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OUTLINES 



OF 'i ii i: 



WORLD'S BEST LITERATURE 



CONTAINING 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF 133 AUTHORS, 



1,500 CHOICE EXTRACTS FROM THEIR PRODUCTIONS. 



BY 

B. -F. BUNTS: lEIR/TOUST, 
Superintendent Tyrone Schools. 



LANCASTER, PA. 
INQUIRER PRINTING AND PUBLISHING ('<». 

1886. 



PREFACE. 



The word "Outlines" in the name of this volume is meant to embrace the lending 
literary representatives of all ages, with the titles of their principal productions, and 
choice selections from their writings. It comprises short, unencumbered sketches of 
the lives and labors of the most popular men and women of Sacred, Grecian, Roman, 
English, Scottish, Irish, French, German, and American Literature. 

Parents and teachers have awakened to the fact that too little attention is given to 
this subject; students are graduated from our common schools and colleges with a sur- 
prisingly limited acquaintance with the world's authors and their works. But aside 
from the indispensable information to a cultured mind that may be derived from the 
pursuit of this branch, educators everywhere are beginning to advocate the study of 
literature and the committing and reciting of choice extracts as the best means by 
which a good command of elegant language may be acquired. 

Since the establishing of " Author's Day" by Prof. Geo. J. Luckey, Superintendent 
of the Pittsburg schools, there have been earnest demands from all parts of the 
country, where the benefits of the scheme have been realized, for a book suitably 
adapted to impart literary culture, and to incite our scholars to read more eagerly the 
highest and most commendable literature. It is hoped that this book will supply that 
want, and that the beautiful gems which its casket contains will stimulate a searching 
for others. It is intended to require students to become familiar with a brief bio- 
graphy of each writer, his contemporaries and the thought-gems given, and to glean 
other extracts from the works of each. The authors are arranged according to time 
of birth, so that it will not be difficult to select those who were co-laborers at different 
stages since the age of Shakespeare, before whose time the world seldom had more 
than one great literary light shining during the same period. 

Hoping that our collection of brilliant thoughts and sparkling pearls may foster a 
new enthusiasm in this interesting study, the author asks for the w r ork a careful exam- 
ination. 

Hollidaysburg, Pa., July 18, 1883. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, 

By B. FRANK PINKERTON, 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Introduction. 

Literature defined ; how divided and sub-di- 
vided; beginning of English literature; 
translators of the Bible ; first printer, etc. 5 

Sacred Literature. 

Job . . 1 

Moses 1 

David 8 

Solomon 9 

Isaiah 9 

Confucius 10 

St. Paul 10 

Grecian Literature. 

Homer 11 

Hesiod 11 

Sappho 12 

jEschylus 12 

Sophocles 13 

Herodotus 13 

Euripides 13 

Aristophanes 14 

Plato 14 

Aristotle 15 

Plutarch 15 

Roman Literature. 

Marcus Tullius Cicero 16 

Lucretius, 17 

Caius Sallust . . . .' 17 

Publius Virgil 17 

Quintus Horace 18 

Titus Livy 18 

Lucius Seneca 19 

Caius Tacitus 19 

Alighieri Dante 19 

English Literature. 

Geoffrey Chaucer 20 

Sir Walter Raleigh 21 

Edmund Spenser. .' 21 

Robert Southwell 22 

Sir Philip Sidney 22 

( 



PAOI 

English Litkbatdbs. — Conk 

Francis Bacon 23 

William Shakespeare 23 

Ben Jonson 24 

Thomas Fuller 25 

• John Milton 25 

Samuel Butler 20 

Jeremy Taylor 27 

John Bunyan 27 

John Dryden 28 

John Locke 28 

Daniel De Foe 29 

Jonathan Swift 29 

Joseph Addison 30 

Edward Young 31 

George Berkeley 31 

John Gay 32 

Alexander Pope 32 

James Thomson -33 

Samuel Johnson 34 

David Hume 34 

Thomas Gray 35 

William Collins 35 

Oliver Goldsmith 3G 

Edmund Burke 36 

William Cowper 37 

James Beattie 38 

Hannah More 38 

Richard Brinsley Sheridan 39 

Robert Burns 39 

Joanna Baillie 40 

Maria Edge worth 40 

Mrs. Amelia Opie 11 

William Wordsworth -11 

Sir Walter Scott 42 

Sidney Smith 

James Montgomery '■■ ' 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge M 

Robert Southey 

Charles Lamb 



ill) 



CONTENTS. 



TACK 

EKGLI8B LITERATURE. — Continued. 

Thomas Campbell 46 

Charles Caleb Colton it 

Thomas Moore 47 

James 11. Leigh Hunt 48 

George Gordon Byron 48 

Percy B. Shelley 49 

Mrs. Felicia llomans 50 

Thomas Carlyle 50 

Thomas Hood 51 

Thomas Babington Macaulay 52 

Douglas Jerrold 52 

Sir Edward Lytton Buhver 53 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning 53 

Caroline E. S. Norton 54 

Lord Alfred Tennyson 54 

William Makepeace Thackeray 55 

Charles Dickens 56 

Charles Mackay 57 

John Ruskin 57 

Charles Kingsley 58 

John Tyndall 58 

George Eliot 59 

Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon 59 

Jean Ingelow 60 

French Literature. 

Francois la Rochefoucauld 61 

Jean de la Fontaine 62 

Blaise Pascal ... • 62 

Jean Jacques Rousseau 62 

German Literature. 

Christopher M. Wieland 63 

Johann Wolfgang Goethe 63 

Johann C. F. Schiller. 64 



PAGE 

German Literature. — Continued. 

Johann Paul Friederich Richter .... 65 

American Literature. 

Benjamin Franklin 66 

George Washington 66 

Thomas Jefferson 67 

Daniel Webster 68 

Washington Irving. 68 

James Fennimore Cooper 69 

Fitz-Greene Halleck 70 

Lydia H. Sigourney 70 

Edward Everett 71 

William Cullen Bryant ........ 71 

George Bancroft 72 

Ralph Waldo Emerson 73 

, Nathaniel Hawthorne 73 

Nathaniel Parker Willis 74 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 75 

John Greenleaf Whittier 76 

Oliver Wendell Holmes 77 

Edgar Allan Poe 78 

Horace Greeley 79 

Harriet Beecher Stowe 79 

Henry Ward Beecher 80 

John Godfrey Saxe 81 

Henry W. Shaw 81 

James Russell Lowell 82 

Joseph Gilbert Holland 83 

Alice Cary 83 

Thomas Buchanan Read 84 

Bayard Taylor 85 

Phoebe Cary 85 

James Abram Garfield 86 



INTRODUCTION 



Literati re 1ms been defined as thought expressed in writing; as the thought of 
thinking souls; as the immortality of speech; as a nation's history in its subtlest form; 
as the revelation of mind ; as the great engine which moves the feelings of a people; as 
comprising the written productions of all nations in all ages; and as the written thoughts 
and feelings of intelligent men and women, arranged in a way that will give pleasure 
to the reader. We add to these comprehensive definitions: Literature is the reflection 
of an illuminated mind. 

Its two large divisions are Poetry and Prose. The former includes only such writings 
as are in verse, are the product of a creative imagination, and are designed to give 
pleasure ; the latter, in order to be called literature, must have style and character, and 
be written with curious care. The different kinds of poetry are epic, dramatic, lyric, 
narrative, descriptive, didactic, elegiac, pastoral, and humorous; the varieties of prose 
are letters, reviews, travels, history, fiction, essays, discourses, etc. These subdivis- 
ions are all defined in Hart's Rhetoric, and in the large dictionaries. Three examples 
for each kind of poetry are given : Epic — Homer's Iliad, Virgil's ^Eneid, and Milton's 
Paradise Lost. Dramatic — Shakespeare's Plays, Ben Jonson's Fall of Catiline, and 
Joanna Baillie's De Montfort. Lyric — Dryden's Alexander's Feast, Mrs. Hemans' 
The Return, and Lowell's Commemorative Ode. Narrative — Chaucer's Canterbury 
Tales, Scott's Lady of the Lake, and Cowper's Task. Descriptive — Thomson's Sea- 
sons, Bryant's Forest Hymn, and Montgomery's Greenland. Didactic — Pope's Essay 
on Man, Young's Night Thoughts, and Keats' Hyperion. Elegiac — Gray's Elegy, 
Tennyson's In Memoriam, and Willis' Death of Absalom. Pastoral — Whittier's Snow 
Bound, Spenser's Faery Queen, and Byron's Haidee: Humorous — Hood's John Trot, 
Holmes' One Hoss Shay, and Carleton's Editor's Guests. The World's Best Litera- 
ture is divided into Sacred, Grecian, Roman, English, French, German, and Ameri- 
can, with Job, Homer, Cicero, Chaucer, La Rochefoucauld, Wieland, and Franklin. a> 
their respective leaders. 'Tis true that English poetry really began with Caedmon, 
070 A. D., and prose about thirty years after with the Venerable Bede; and that King 
Alfred was called the " Father of English Literature;" but their writings were so frag- 
mentary and unimportant when compared with later periods that Chaucer is properly 

(v) 



INTRODUCTION. 



entitled to be placed first on the list. The English authors borrowed their rhymes, 
meter, and accent from the French. Their first translator of the Bible was Aelfric, 
followed by Wydiffe, Tvndale and James I. Their first printer was "William Caxton* 
England has had sixteen Poets Laureate: Spenser, Daniel, Jonson, Davenant, Dry- 
den, Shadwell, Tate, Rowe, Kusden, Gibber, Whitehead, Warton, Rye, Southey, 
Wordsworth, Tennyson. America's first or colonial .period produced only theological 
literature, for the most part fugitive and controversial; Newman, Williams, Mather, 
Mayhew, D wight, Elliot, Witherspoon, Hopkins, Edwards, and Styles, were the main 
contributors. Benjamin Franklin is taken as the first, for reasons given in his biog- 
raphy in this book. 




Outlines of Literature. 



SACRED LITERATURE. 



Of the forty writers who contributed to our Bible, only six have been selected for 

this book, and of all authors of other sacred works, only one is found on these p:t_ 
It is to be hoped that readers will be stimulated to make further investigations in the 
precious mines of sacred literature. While studying this, make a practice of select- 
ing passages from the Bible to read or recite in connection with each lesson. 



JOB. 

" The most patient of all human beings " 
— whom we believe to have written the 
oldest literary production in the world — 
the book of Job — is supposed to have 
lived from about 2000 to 1400 B. C, 
in the land of Uz, east of Palestine. 
While there is considerable diversity of 
opinion as to the authorship, time, etc., of 
this part of the Bible, the conclusions 
reached by those most competent to judge, 
are that the pious, patient, distinguished 
patriarch wrote it himself, about twenty- 
nine years before the Exodus from Egypt. 
This wonderful Book exhibits the loftiest 
style of Oriental poetry and is full of sub- 
lime thoughts and deeply impressive senti- 
ments. 

GEMS— [From (he Book of Job.] 

1. The price of wisdom is above rubies. 
2.. All that a man hath will he give for 
his life. 

3. Mao is born unto trouble as the 
sparks fly upward. 

4. Great men are not always wise; 
neither do the aged understand judgment. 

5. The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; 
and to depart from evil is understanding. 

G. Wisdom cannot be gotten for gold, 
neither shall silver be weighed for the 
price thereof. 

7. We are but of yesterday, and know 
nothing, because our days upon earth are 
a shadow. 

8. The triumphing of the wicked is 



short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for 
a moment. 

PARAPHRASES. 
9. Though trouble springs not from the dust, 
Nor sorrow from the ground ; 
Yet ills on ills, by heaven's decree, 

In man's estate are found. 
As sparks in close succession rise 

So man, the child of woe, 
Is doomed to endless cares and toils 
Through all his life below. 

10. But with ray God I leave my cause ; 

From him I seek relief; 
To him, in confidence of prayer, 

Unbosom all my grief. 
Unnumbered are his wondrous works, 

Unsearchable his ways ; 
'Tis his the mourning soul to cheer, 

The bowed down to raise. 

11. The mighty flood that rolls alonp 

Its torrents to the main, 
Can ne'er recall its waters lost 

From that abyss again. 
So days and years and ages past, 

Descending down to night, 
Can henceforth never more return 

Back to the gates of light. 

MOSES, 

" The meekest man the world ever had," 
the son of Amram and Joehebed — was 
born in Egypt about 1571, and died 1451 
1>. C. According to the best .authorities, 
he wrote the Book of Genesis during the 

first eight} >f his life, and the re- 

mainder of the Pentateuch in his last 
forty years. Bishop Gray tells US that 
the books are written in pure Hebrew, 



(7) 



<H TLINES OF LITERATURE. 



with an admirable diversity o\' style, al- 
ways well adapted to the subject, yet 
characterized with the stain]) of the same 

author. In all that he wrought and 
taught, he was but the agent of the Most 
High; and yet in all, his own character 
stands honorably revealed. lie wrote 
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 
Deuteronomy, and the 90th Psalm. 

Q K MS— [From the Pentateuch and the Psalm.] 

1 . Every one that delileth the sabbath 
shall surely be put to death. 

2. The Lord is my strength and song, 
and he is become my salvation. 

3. So teach us to number our days that 
we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 

4. Ye shall walk in all the ways which 
the Lord commanded you, that ye may 
live, and that it may be well with you. 

5. He is the Rock, his work is perfect; 
for all his ways are judgment; a God of 
truth and without iniquity, just and right 
is he. 

6. Before the mountains were brought 
forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth 
or the world, even from everlasting to 
everlasting, thou art God. 

7. For the poor shall never cease out of 
the land ; therefore I command thee, say- 
ing, Thou shalt open thine hand wide 
unto thy brother, and to the needy in thy 
land. 

PARAPHRASES. 

8. Let heaven arise, let earth appear, 

Said the Almighty Lord : 
The heaven arose, the earth appeared, 

At his creating word. 
Thick darkness brooded o'er the deep ; 

God said : Let there be light; 
The light shone forth with smiling ray, 

And scattered ancient night. 

9. God of Bethel! by whose hand 

Thy people still are fed ; 
Who through this weary pilgrimage 

Hast all our fathers led — 
Through each perplexing path of life 

Our wandering footsteps guide ; 
Give us each day our daily bread, 

And raiment fit provide. 

DAVID, 

"The sweet singer of Israel," the young- 
est son of Jesse, was born in Bethlehem 
B. C. 1085, died 1014. In his early pas- 
toral life he distinguished himself by his 
boldness, fidelity, and faith in God ; and 



while yet a youth was summoned to court 
as one expert in music, valiant, prudent in 
behavior, and comely in person. His 
mental abilities and acquirements were of 
an exceedingly high order; he was a states- 
man, warrior and poet. In his Psalms 
he frankly reveals his whole heart. They 
are inspired poems, containing many pro- 
phetic passages. David wrote upwards of 
eighty of the Psalms, and many other 
songs. 

GEMS— [From the Psalms.) 

1. Keep thy tongue from evil and thy 
lips from speaking guile. 

2. He heapeth up riches and knoweth 
not who shall gather them. 

3. I said, I will take heed to my ways, 
that I sin not with my tongue. 

4. A little that a righteous man hath is 
better than the riches of many wicked. 

5. Mark the perfect man and behold the 
upright, for the end of that man is peace. 

6. The heavens declare the glory of 
God ; and the firmament showeth his handi- 
work. 

7. Truth shall spring out of the earth, 
and righteousness shall look down from 
heaven. 

8. Blessed is that man that maketh the 
Lord his trust, and respecteth not the 
proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 

PARAPHRASES. 

9. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting 

the soul ; 
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making 

wise the simple ; 
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing 

the heart. 

10. A good man doth his favor show, 

And doth to others lend ; 
He with discretion his affairs 

Will guide unto the end: 
Surely there is not anything 

That ever shall him move : 
The righteous man's memorial 

Shall everlasting prove. 

.. 11. God's law is perfect and converts 

The soul in sin that lies ; 
God's testimony is most sure, 

And makes the simple wise. 
The statutes of the Lord are right 

And do rejoice the heart ; 
The Lord's command is pure and doth 

Light to the eyes impart. 

12. Lord, from the ill and froward man 
Give me deliverance, 



SACRED LITERATURE. 



And <lo Thou sate preserve ine J rum 

The men of riolence, 

Who in their heart mischievous things 

Aw meditating ever. 

And they for war assembled are 

Continually together. 

SOLOMON, 

"The wisest of the human family," the 

son and successor of David — was horn at 
Jerusalem 1<>:5;>, and died 975 B. C. His 
writings covered a wide range in the 
natural sciences, as well as in philosophy 
and morals, and contain pithy, religious, 
moral and practical sayings. The Pro- 
verbs diti'er from the Psalms; the latter 
being devotional throughout, constituting 
a great array of prayers and praises; the 
former, instead of embracing a collection 
of forms of divine worship, are composed of 
sharp ethical precepts about practical life. 
The Psalms form a poetical prayer-book; 
the Proverbs a poetical moral philosophy. 
Solomon wrote, besides the Proverbs, 
several of the Psalms, and a thousand 
songs. 

GEMS— [From his Writings.] 

1. A merry heart doeth good like a 
medicine. 

2. He that refuseth instruction despiseth 
his own soul. 

3. A word fitly spoken is like apples of 
gold in pictures of silver. 

4. Buy the truth, and sell it not; also 
wisdom, instruction, and understanding. 

5. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; 
but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 

6. Better is a handful with quietness, 
than both hands full with vexation of 
spirit. 

7. A stone is heavy, and the sand is 
weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier 
than them both. 

8. Let another man praise thee, and 
not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not 
thine own lips. 

9. Where no wood is, there the fire 
goeth out; so w r here there is no talebearer, 
the strife ceaseth. 

10. Honor the Lord with thy substance, 
and with the first fruits of all thine in- 
crease; so shall thy barns be filled with 
plenty, and thy presses shall burst out 
with new wine. 



PARAPHRASES, 

1 1. Better to weep with those who weep, 

And share tin- afflicted smart 

Than mix with tool- iii giddy joys 

That cheal and wound the heart. 

12. As long as lite it- term extends, 

Hope's blest dominion never 61 

t while the lamp holds out to hum. 

The greatest sinner may return. 

13. happy is the man who hears 

Instruction's warning voice: 
And who celestial wisdom makes 

His early, only choice ; 
For she has treasures greater far 

Than east or west unfold; 
And her rewards more precious are 

Than all their stores of gold. 

14. For soon the shades of grief shall cloud 

The sunshine of thy days ; 
And cares and toils, in endless round, 

Encompass all thy ways. 
Soon shall thy heart the woes of age 

In mournful groans deplore, 
And sadly muse on former joys, 

That now return no more. 

ISAIAH, 

" The prince of all the prophets," flourished 
between 810 and 698 B. C. In the ar- 
rangement of the prophetical books, 
Isaiah is placed first in consequence of 
the great importance of his predictions, 
the sublime character of his writings, and 
their extent. His prophecies, which, with 
few exceptions, are poetical in form, con- 
tain some of the most majestic passages in 
the whole range of literature. 

GEMS. 

1. Learn to do well. 

2. Seek ye the Lord wiiile he may be 
found ; call ye upon him while he is near. 

3. Woe unto them that are wise in 
their own eyes, and prudent in their own 
sight. 

4. Wherefore do you spend money for 
that which is not bread, and your labor 
for that which satislieth not? 

5. Woe unto them that rise up early in 
the morning, that they may follow strong 
drink ; that continue until night till wine 
inflame them. 

6. Let the wicked forsake his ways, 
and the unrighteous man his thoughts : 
and let him return unto the Lord, and he 
will have mercy upon hi in. 



10 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



PARAPHRASES. 

7. Among the nations he shall judge ; 

His judgments truth shall guide; 
His sceptre shall protect the just, 
And quel] the sinner's pride. 

No Btrife shall rage, nor hostile feuds 
Di8turfa those peaceful years ; 

To plowshares men shall beat their swords, 
To pruning-hooks their spears. 

8. Let him who pines with piercing cold 

By thee be warmed and clad ; 
Be thine the blissful task to make 

The downcast mourner glad. 
Then bright as morning shall come forth, 

In peace and joy, thy days ; 
And glory from the Lord above 

Shall shine on all thy ways. 

CONFUCIUS, 

" The sagely ancient teacher of righteous- 
ness " — was born in China, January 19, 
551 B. C, died November 7, 479. Hav- 
ing been highly educated for the vocation 
of teacher, he entered upon his work at 
the age of twenty-two. His remarkable 
work and religious influence, as well as 
his classical books, must be studied to be 
appreciated. For more than twenty cen- 
turies, his precepts have been taught in 
the schools of China. They teach respect 
for learning, filial piety, and lofty princi- 
ples of conduct. Among his works are, 
Books of Changes, History, Poetry and 
Analects. 

GEMS— [From his Precepts.] 

1. The cautious seldom err. 

2. When you transgress, fear not to re- 
turn. 

3. When anger rises, think of the con- 
sequences. 

4. Do not only learn wise sayings, but 
practice them. 

5. The accomplished man must have 
sincere thoughts. 

6. Filial piety must be stamped on the 
minds of the young. 

7. To see what is right, and not to do 
it, is want of courage. 

8. That which I wish another not to do 
to me, I must not do to him. 

9. Learning without thought is labor 
lost; thought without learning is perilous. 

10. Perfect obedience to one's parents 
will secure the greatest blessings of the 
future. 



11. It is not a shame to stumble and fall, 
but it is disgraceful to lie still until some 
one picks you up. 

12. Good government obtains when 
those who are near are made happy, and 
those far off are attracted. 

13. The wheel of fortune turns inces- 
santly round, and who can say within him- 
self, I shall to-day be uppermost? 

14. When you know a thing, to hold 
that you know it; and when you do not 
know a thing, to confess your ignorance — 
is knowledge. 

15. The expectations of life depend 
upon diligence; and the mechanic that 
would be perfect in his work, must first 
sharpen his tools. 

ST. PAUL, 

" The most zealous of all Christ's Teach- 
ers," was born at Tarsus, March 16, 5 A. 
D., and was beheaded September 19, 66 
A. D. He was about thirty years of age 
when converted; from which time he de- 
voted all the powers of his ardent and 
energetic mind to the defence and propa- 
gation of the Gospel. He wrote fourteen 
of the letters or Epistles in the New Tes- 
tament, and entered into them with en- 
ergy, enthusiasm, vigor of argument, full- 
ness of learning, utter sweetness and 
kindness of heart, and inexhaustible and 
unfailing piety. Indeed, they everywhere 
bear the stamp of the great and original 
mind of the apostle, as purified, elevated, 
and sustained by the influence of the Holy 
Spirit. He wrote all the Epistles from 
Romans to Hebrews inclusive. 

GEMS— [From his Epistles.\ 

1. Touch not, taste not, handle not. 

2. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 

3. The love of money is the root of all 
evil. 

4. Let not the sun go down upon your 
wrath. 

5. Children, obey your parents in the 
Lord, for this is right. 

6. Bear ye one another's burdens, and 
so fulfil the law of Christ. 

7. Let no corrupt communication pro- 
ceed out of your mouth. 

8. Every one of us shall give an ac- 
count of himself to God. 



GRECIAN LITERATURE. 



11 



9. Re not wise in your own conceits. 
Recompense to no man evil for evil. 

10. It* it be possible, as much as lieth 

in you, live peaceably with all men. 

11. Charity [love] suffereth Long and 

is kind; charity envieth not ; charity 
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. 



PABAPHRA8E 
L2. Lots sutlers long ; lore envies not ; 

Bnl love is ever kind : 

sin- sever boaeteth of herself. 

Nor prondlj lifts the mind, 
Love harbors no suspicions thought, 

Is patient u> the bad ; 

Grieved when she hear.-, of -ins and crimes. 
And in the truth is glad 



GRECIAN LITERATURE. 



Eleven authors have been chosen to represent Greece in this book There are 

many others whose lives and works should be carefully studied by inquiring minds. 

10. Pray, for all men require aid from 
on high. 

11. In the struggle of life, look above 
that which is mean. 

12. Would you gain the confidence of 
men, uncover none of your faults. 

13. Asked and unasked, thy blessings give, 
Lord! 
The evil, though we ask it, from us ward. 

14. Of the many things hidden from 
the knowledge of man, nothing is more 



HOMER, 

" The Father of Song," the renowned 
Greek writer who gave epic poetry its first 
impulse — was born, it is supposed, in 
Smyrna, about 900 B. C. The place and 
the time of his birth, and even his parent- 
age, was a subject of great controversy 
among the Greeks, and will undoubtedly 
always remain involved in darkness. We 
know from his writings that he traveled 
in many countries, but whether in the 
course of his wanderings he became af- 
flicted with total blindness is a disputed 
question. Has not Anthon truly said that 
the character of Homer's composition 
seems rather to suppose him all eye than 
destitute of sight? His Iliad, consisting 
of 24 books concerning the Trojan war, 
and the Odyssey, of 24 books recounting 
the adventures of Ulysses, are his great 
productions. He also wrote Hymns, Epi- 
grams, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Wine leads to folly. 

2. Victory changes oft her side. 

3. The force of union conquers all. 

4. Too much rest itself becomes a pain. 

5. To sorrow 7 without ceasing is wrong. 

6. Even the fool is wise after the event. 

7. Nothing so adorns the face as cheer- 
fulness. 

8. Who love too much, hate in the like 
extreme. 

9. Shame greatly hurts or greatly helps 
mankind. 



unintelligible than the human heart. 

15. Yet come it will, the day decreed by fates ; 
(How my heart trembles while my tongue 

relates !) 
The day when thou, imperial Troy, must 

bend, 
And see thy warriors fall, thy glorious 

end. 

HESIOD, 
" The singer on the mountain side," one 
of the earliest Greek poets — was born in 
Boeotia about 735 B. C. Herodotus re- 
garded Homer and Hesiod contemporaries, 
but most modern critics assume that the 
latter lived over a century after the for- 
mer. This poet, in his poems, describes 
himself as tending flocks on the mountain 
side ; hence we infer that he belonged to 
a humble station, and was engaged in 
rural pursuits. While he ranks far below 
Homer as an author, his style, neverthe- 
ess, exhibits enthusiasm, and even rises to 
sublimity. We must respect him for the 
pure morality of his teachings. I lis prin- 
cipal works are Works and Days, Theog- 
ony, and Shield of Hercules. 



L2 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



GEMS. 

1. Justice is a virgin pure. 

2. Emulation is good for mortals. 

3. The idler never shall his garner fill. 

4. Idleness, not labor, is disgraceful. 

5. The procrastinator lias ever to con- 
tend with loss. 

0. The best treasure among men is a 
frugal tongue. 

7. The road to vice is broad and easy; 
that of virtue difficult, long, and steep. 

8. Wrong, if he yield to its abhorred control, 
Shall pierce like iron to the poor man's 

soul. 

9. Know then this awful truth : it is not 

given 
To elude the wisdom of omniscient heaven. 

10. How richer he who dines on herbs with 

health 
Of heart, than knaves with all their wines 
and wealth. 

11. We quaff the wine, we join the dance, 

Nor think of future joy or sorrow ; 
Yet fates decree that all must die, 
And come it might before to-morrow. 

SAPPHO, 

''The Lesbian Nightingale," was born on 
the island of Lesbos, about 610 B. C, 
and died in 550. She was remarkably 
gifted with poetic genius, and her produc- 
tions have received unbounded praise. 
Her lyric poems formed the greater part of 
her works, besides which she composed a 
large number of hymeneal songs. The 
only regret is that but few fragments of 
her poetry survive — barely enough to fur- 
nish a sample of the surpassing beauty of 
the whole, and yet sufficient to show how 
simple, tender, brilliant, and musical was 
Sappho's verse. She left nine books of 

love lays, elegies, bridal songs, etc 

hymns to Venus and to Cupid. 

GEMS. 

1. The living soul of beauty sends 
That on which happiness depends. 

2. Through orchard plots, with fragrance 

crowned, 
The clear, cold fountain murmuring- 
flows; 
And forest leaves, with rustling sound, 
Invite to soft repose. 

3. The stars that round the beauteous moon 

Attendant wait, cast into shade 
Their inefficient lustres, soon 



As she, in full-orbed majesty arrayed, 
Her silver radiance showers 
Upon this world of ours. 

4. Did Jove a queen of flowers decree, 
The rose the queen of flowers should be ; 
Of flowers, the eye ; of plants, the gem ; 
The meadow's blush ; earth's diadem ; 
Glory of colors on the gaze 
Lightening in its beauty's blaze. 

5. Celestial visitant, once more 
Thy needful presence I implore! 
In pity come and easy my grief, 
Bring my distempered soul relief; 
Favor thy suppliant's hidden fires, 
And give me all my heart's desires. 

^SCHYLUS, 

"The Father of Tragedy," was born in 
Attica in 525, died 456 B. C. He com- 
menced to write at an early age, for before 
he was twenty -five, he made his appearance 
as a competitor for the prize of tragedy. 
The style of his productions is bold, ener- 
getic, sublime; full of gorgeous imagery and 
magnificent expressions, such as become 
the elevated character of his dramas, and 
the ideas he wished to express. The 
Greeks justly regarded him as the father 
of tragedy. This poet met his death in a 
very singular way; an eagle mistaking his 
bald head for a stone, let a tortoise fall 
upon it to break the shell, which resulted 
fatally to iEschylus. He wrote Women 
of Etna, Persse, Seven against Thebes, 
Prometheus, Agamemnon, Suppliants, 
The Persians, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. He hears but half that hears one 
part only. 

2. To know and to conjecture differ 
widely. 

3. To be without evil thoughts is God's 
best gift. 

4. What men think they want often 
leads to ruin. 

5. A wise man in the company -of the 
ignorant, is like a shield in the hands of a 
court fool. 

6. Discover what is true, and practice 
what is good, if you desire the confidence 
of others. 

1. Happy the man whose life 

Is spent in friendship's calm security. 

8. The tongue of slander is too prompt 

With wanton malice to wound the stranger. 



GRECIAN LITERATURE. 



18 



0. Be it mine to draw 

::i wisdom's fount. purr M it lo* 
That calm Of soul which virtue only knows. 

10. How ea>y when tilt' loot is DOt entangled 

In misery's thorny maze, to ^ivc monitions 

And precepts to the afflicted. 

1 1. Sad eha>QCel Thy wit slips 

Prom its firm footing when Deeded most, 
Like souk- unlearned leech who many 

healed. 
Hut. being Sick himself from all his store 
Cannot cull out one medicinal drug. 

SOPHOCLES, 

M A skilled musician and famous drama- 
tist," was born near Athens 495 and died 
406 B. C. To both of the two leading 
branches of Greek education — music and 
gymnastics — he was carefully trained, and 
in both he gained the prize of a garland. 
He soon appeared as a successful drama- 
tist : and the best critics, both ancient and 
modern, concede to him perfection as 
nearly as is conceivable in that species of 
poetry. His works .bring to the heart of 
the careful reader, terror, pity, admira- 
tion, sympathy and self-application. This 
aged poet of ninety years met his death 
by choking upon a grape. He wrote no 
less than 113 plays, among which are 
Ajax, Antigone, Electra, King CEdipus, 
and Trachinian "Women. 

GEMS. 

1. Quick resolves are unsafe. 

2. What good man is not his own 
friend ? 

2. In a just cause, the weak subdue 
the strong. 

4. Clamorous sorrow wastes itself in 
sound. 

5. To exert his power in doing good is 
man's most glorious task. 

6. The happiness of our lives depends 
upon the quality of our thoughts. 

7. Good luck have thou ! And may the powers 

on high 
Guard thy path better than they guarded 
mine ! 

8. From hence the lesson draw. 

To reckon no man happy till ye see 
The closing day ; until he pass the bourn 
Which severs life from death, unscathed by 
woe. 9 
"9. Who feels no ills. 

Should, therefore, fear them, and when for- 
tune smiles. 



Be donbly cautions, lest destruction 

Kern- him. and he fall unpitied. 

1(». But who can penetrate man's K 

thoughts, 
The quality and temper of his soul, 
Till by high office put to frequent proof, 

And execution of the la* 

HERODOTUS, 

"The Father of History," was born at 
Halicarnassne 184, died 405 B. C. In the 
true sense of the term, he was the earliest 

Greek historian, and one of the greatest 

travelers and most careful observers of the 
world. With a simplicity which charac- 
terizes his entire works Herodotus makes 
no display of the extent of his travels; and 
he is so free from the ordinary vanity of 
travelers, that, instead of acting a promi- 
nent part in his narrative, he seldom ap- 
pears in it at all. The whole structure of 
his history bears a strong resemblance to 
a grand epic poem. His history is divided 
into nine books, called Nine Muses, be- 
cause 

" The Muses to Herodotus one day came, nine 
of them, and dined ; 
And in return, their host to pay, left each a 
book behind." 

GEMS. 

1. Think wisely and unceasingly. 

2. Rash haste ever goes before a fall. 

3. The god loves to cut down all tow- 
ering things. 

4. Travel and observation are useful 
companions together. 

5. The hardest lesson man has to learn 
is his own insignificance. 

6. Men are dependent on circumstances, 
not circumstances on men. 

7. Those who are guided by reason are 
generally successful in their plans. 

8. You have learned by experience how 
much better it is to be envied than pitied. 

9. Self-restraint brings blessings, not 
seen at the moment perhaps, yet found out 
in due time. 

10. He who fears to speak the truth be- 
cause it may endanger the reputation of a 
friend, lacks honesty of purpose. 

EURIPIDES, 

'■ Whose tongue took no oath and whose 
mind was unsworn," was born at Salamis 
480, died 40G B. C. Early in life he de- 



14 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



voted himself with marked interest to 
philosophy and literature; at eighteen, he 
began to write tragedy, and continued to 

exhibit plays until the year 408. He was 
held in high estimation by Cicero and 
Quintilian, the latter of whom said: "Eu- 
ripides is worthy of being compared with 
the most eloquent pleaders of the forum 
and the greatest writers of his time." He 
surpassed his contemporaries in delineating 
character, and in the portraiture of woman 
stands second to no poet,ancient or modern. 
xSo less than seventy-five plays are ac- 
corded to him ; among them : Medea, Sup- 
plices, Iphigenia, Helena, Orestes, the 
Trojan Women, and Ion. 

GEMS. 

1. The Deity helps him who helps him- 
self. 

2. To form devices quick is woman's 
wit. 

3. Temperance is the noblest gift of 
heaven. 

4. Death's a debt that all mortals must 
pay. 

5. In darkness a runaway has mighty 
strength. 

6. Every man should lift his own cart 
out of the mire before he goes to help his 
neighbor. 

7. Gold has much greater power over 
men than ten thousand arguments can 
produce. 

8. His worth shines forth the brightest, 
who in hope always confides ; the abject 
soul despairs. 

9. There is a time when not to build too much 
on our wisdom is agreeable; 
But then there is a time when to exert our 
judgment is of use. 

10. Blest is the man who, escaped the stormy 
seas, 
The welcome harbor gains ; 
And blest is he who, now at ease, 
Sees with success his weary labors crowned. 

ARISTOPHANES, 

"The Father of Comedy," was born in 
Athens 444, died 380 B. C. The chief 
characteristics of his poetry seem to have 
been the liveliness of his fancy, and the 
power which he possessed of imparting its 
mages to his audience ; his comedies are 
of the highest historical interest, contain- 



ing, as they do, an admirable series of 
caricatures on the leading men of the day. 
The merits of Aristophanes as a poet and 
a humorist cannot be fully understood 
without an actual study of his works. No 
flights were too bold for the range of his 
fancy — animals of every kind are pressed 
into his service: frogs chant choruses; a 
dog is tried for stealing a cheese ; and an 
iambic verse is composed of the squealing 
of a pig. His works are : Birds, Wasps, 
Frogs, Clouds, The Women in Assembly, 
Peace, Knights, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Poverty is a sister of beggary. 

2. Old men are boys twice over. 

3. To fear death is a great folly. 

4. Indolence is the mother of poverty, 
o. Diligence is the father of success and 

thrift. 

6. The only power that scorns our gifts 
is death. 

7. Don't hope for great success unless 
you strive for it. 

8. Evil events from evil causes spring, 

And what you suffer flows from what 
you've done. 

9. That's the great thinking-school of our new 

philosophers ; 
There live the men who teach that heaven 

around us 
Is a vast oven, and we the charcoal in it. 
And they teach too — for a consideration, 

mind — 
To plead a cause and win it, right or wrong. 

PLATO, 

The renowned philosopher and mathema- 
tician, was born in Athens 429, died 347 
B. C. His personal qualities from boy- 
hood were marked and striking — healthy 
and robust physical constitution. Enter- 
taining the most lively conviction that he 
was called to continue the work begun by 
his renowned preceptor, Socrates, he 
everywhere, following that illustrious ex- 
ample, sought and found opportunities for 
awakening and guiding the youth, and 
aiding in developing the germs of knowl- 
edge in them. His philosophical merits 
are of the highest order, and his writings 
have always been admired as a model for 
acuteness and depth. Among his works 
are, Meno, Crito, Phaedo, Hippias, Re- 
public, Alcibiades, and Symposium. 



GRECIAN LITERATURE. 



15 



(,i:ms. 

1 . Conquer every passion. 

2. Let DO mail speak evil of another. 

8. Wisdom is the true and unalloyed 
coin. 

1. Self-COnquesI is the greatest of vic- 
tories. 

'). Dngoverned boys are the most fero- 
cious of animals. 

6. A drunkard is unprofitable for any 
kind of good service. 

7. There is nothing so delightful as the 
hearing or the speaking of the truth. 

8. It is proper to leave abundance of 
modesty rather than gold to children. 

9. Wisdom herself we cannot see, or 
terrible had been the loves she had in- 
spired. 

10. Better to be unknown than un- 
taught ; for ignorance is the root of mis- 
fortune. 

11. Those are profane who think that 
nothing exists except what they can grasp 
with their hands. 

12. Let a man be of good cheer about 
his soul, who has cast away the pleasures 
and . ornaments of the body as alien to 
him, and has followed after the pleasures 
of knowledge in this life. 

ARISTOTLE, 

" The intellect of Plato's school," was 
born in Thracia in 384, died 322 B. C. 
Inheriting his father's literary tastes, he 
early manifested an inclination for the in- 
vestigation of nature, a desire which is 
perceived throughout his whole life. His 
teacher, Plato, said, " Aristotle has an 
unfathomable mind ; there is nothing too 
great or too small for his observation, 
nothing which his understanding cannot 
grasp." He not only mastered all the 
sciences of the day, but he created new 
works. Every student should give this 
great philosopher's life and works a careful 
study. He wrote Logic, Science of the 
Mind, History of Philosophy, Categories, 
Metaphysics, Meteorology, Politics, The 
Heavens, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. All flatterers are mercenary. 

2. Self-contradiction is harmful. 

3. A good man must be a lover of him- 
self. 



•1. The beginning ii -aid to he half the 
whole. 

."». Mathrinaiies is the best strengthener 
of the mind. 

G. No one loves a man whom he. has 
learned to fear. 

7. We ought rather to pay a debt to a 
creditor than give to a companion. 

8. Education and morals will be found 
to be almost the whole that goes to make 
a good man. 

9. When men are friends, there is no need of 
justice, 
But when they are just, they still need 
friendship. 

10. One swallow does not make a spring, 
nor yet one fine day ; so also neither does 
one day make a man blessed and happy. 

11. The old have a tenderness to pity, 
but not on the same principle with the 
young ; for the latter are thus disposed 
from their love of human nature, the for- 
mer from their imbecility. 

PLUTARCH, 

"The great biographer of antiquity," was 
born in Boeotia, March 11, 50 A. D., died 
December 29, 120. He was a great lec- 
turer and writer, and his name was immor- 
talized through his parallel lives of forty- 
six Greeks and Romans arranged in pairs ; 
each pair contains the life of a Greek and 
a Roman, and is followed by a comparison 
of the two men. He was a profound phil- 
osopher and biographer, and rightly con- 
ceived the work of the latter, as his biogra- 
phy is true portraiture. His reflections 
are neither impertinent nor trifling; his 
sound good sense is always there; his hon- 
esty of purpose is transparent ; his love for 
humanity warms the whole. Plutarch's 
Lives and his Moralia are extensively read 
everywhere. 

GEMS. 

1. Dead men do not bite. 

2. To borrow and not to return is theft. 

3. What one does not need is dear at a 
penny. 

4. When two discourse, if the one's anjjer rise, 
The man who lets the contest fall is wise. 

5. What does better become wisdom 
than to discern what is worthy the living? 

G. Often while we are delighted with 



16 



or TUNES OF LITERATURE. 



the work, we regard the workman with 
contempt. 

7. The meaner the office you sustain, 
the greater the compliment you pay to the 
public. 

8. The giving riches and honors to a 
wicked man is like giving strong wine to 
him that hath a fever. 



9. Lamentation is the only musician 
that always, like a screech owl, alights and 
sits on the roof of an angry man. 

10. Demosthenes, to make himself a 
master in rhetoric, applied all the facul- 
ties he had, natural or acquired, wholly 
that way. 



ROMAN LITERATURE. 

This part of our book comprises nine brilliant lights: Cicero, Lucretius, Sallust, 
Virgil, Horace, Livy, Seneca, Tacitus, and one Italian author, Dante. Many others 
produced works that are worthy of careful perusal. 



MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, 

" Who really loved his country," was 
born near Rome, January 2, 106, 
died December 7, 43 B. C. He was 
thoroughly educated under the most ac- 
complished teachers of the age in which 
he lived, and soon was one of the ablest 
lawyers at the Roman bar. Though he 
excelled chiefly in oratory, he has left us, 
besides 59 orations, a number of philo- 
sophical treatises, essays and letters. His 
style is often exuberant, for he cultivated 
the flowers of rhetoric. Lie sketched 
character with a powerful pen, and through 
all his works flows a current of mingled 
majesty and sweetness. Some of his 
works are On Glory, Laws, Friendship, 
Officers, Old Age, Nature of the Gods, 
Philippics. 

GEMS. 

1. Justice gives every man his due. 

2. The memory of a well spent life is 
everlasting. 

3. The chief recommendation comes 
from modesty. 

4. Whatever you do, you should do 
with your might. 

5. Knowledge is the natural food of 
the understanding. 

6. Let death come when it will, I am 
prepared to meet it. 

7. One man is more useful in one thing, 
another in another. 

8. Cultivation is as necessary to the 
mind as food to the body. 



9. Any man may err, but no one but a 
fool will persevere in error. 

10. Nor does past time ever return, 
nor can it be discovered what is to follow. 

11. An evil at its birth is easily crushed, 
but it grows and strengthens by endur- 
ance. 

12. Piety, just as much as the other 
virtues, cannot exist in outward show and 
empty feignings. 

13. Friendship is the only thing in the 
world concerning the usefulness of which 
all mankind are agreed. 

14. If the things spoken of possess 
nobleness, there will be derived from that 
nobleness a certain splendor of diction. 

15. My precept to all who build is that 
the owner should be an ornament to the 
house, and not the house to the owner. 

16. Is it not better to die a thousand 
deaths than not to be able to live in one's 
own country without guards of armed 
men? 

17. He is worthy of honor who willeth 
the good of every man ; and he is much un- 
worthy thereof who seeketh his own profit 
and oppresseth others. 

18. The contemplation of celestial things 
will make a man both speak and think 
more sublimely and magnificently when 
he descends to human affairs. 

19. What so kingly, so liberal, so mu- 
nificent, as to give assistance to the sup- 
pliant, to raise the afflicted, to bestow 
security, and to deliver from danger? 



ROMAN LITERATURE. 



17 



20. Spring represents the time of youth, 
And gives promise of* the future fruits; the 
remaining seasons an- intended for pluck- 
ing and gathering those fruits. 

LUCRETIUS, 

,k Italy's Painter of Mature and Worshiper 
of it," was born in Italy April '2D, 95, 
died September 17, 55 B. C. His short 

life seems to* have been one of deep 
thought tinged with sadness, and from his 
poetry we may infer his indifference to all 
things transient, alike to social enjoyments 
and the boisterous political sea that surged 
around him. No ancient writer excelled 
him in the description of nature, with 
which he must have held frequent con- 
verse. The style of Lucretius is not uni- 
formly harmonious; some of his verses 
lack polish, and he inclines to antique 
forms ; yet his poetry is dignified, lumin- 
ous, and animated. He wrote, On the 
Nature of Things, The Dread of Death, 
Variety in Nature. 

GEMS. 

1. We are all sprung from heavenly 
seeds. 

2. The ring on the finger is worn thin 
by constant use. 

3. Since the sand will not endure, 
Build on the rock which is secure. 

4. What of horror dwells there in death? 
Can there be elsewhere slumber half so 

sound? 

5. The unheeded omen of a life of ills, 

With mournful cries the joyful mansion 

fills. 

6. We see that the mind strengthens 
with the body, and with the body grows 
old. 

7. Weigh well with judgment ; what 
seems true, hold fast; gird thyself against 
what is false. 

8. By desiring thus 

The past once more, the present thou ab- 

horr'st, 
And life flies on imperfect, unenjoyed, 
And death untimely meets thee, ere thy soul, 
Cloyed with the banquet, is prepared to rise. 

CAIUS SALLUST, 

"The unsurpassed delineator of charac- 
ter," was born in Italy, January 16, 86, 
died October 31, 34 B. C. Tie was a 



good historian and Caesar*! contemporary. 
While quite young be turned his attention 
to literature, and soon became a master 
hand in delineating character ami portray- 
ing feelings. Condensation without ob- 
scurity is the crowning excellence of his 

writings. Sallust in his productions alh-ets 
the moralist, and throughout hi> works is 
as loud in the praises of virtue, ;t> in his 
life he was careless of her interests. The 
Jugurthine War, History of Rome, and 
Conspiracy of Catiline, are among his 
writings. 

GEMS. 

1. Fear closes the ear of the mind. 

2. False praise pinches the conscience. 

3. Every one is the architect of his own 
fortune. 

4. The mind is the leader and director 
of the life of mortals. 

5. All those things for which men 
plough, build, or sail, obey virtue. 

6. In grief and miseries, death is a re- 
spite from sorrows, not a punishment. 

7. To have the same likes and dislikes, 
this in a word is firm friendship. 

8. The endowments of the mind form 
the only illustrious and lasting possession. 

9. Advise well before you begin, and 
when you have maturely considered, then 
act with promptitude. 

10. In my opinion, he only may be 
truly said to live and enjoy his being, who 
is engaged in some laudable pursuit, and 
acquires a name by some illustrious 
action, or useful art. 

PUBLIUS VIRGIL, 

" Italy's Milton," was born in the village 
of Andes, October 15, 70, died January 8, 
19 B. C. He is styled Rome's greatest 
poet, and worthily did he sustain this 
reputation, for not only his pastoral poems 
were master-pieces, but his great epic was 
far superior to anything that had been 
written in his native land. It p08S( 
tenderness, grace, elegance, rhythmical 
perfection, brilliancy of description, and 
wonderful beauty. " Virgil was the pride 
of his countrymen, who, with a pardona- 
ble national vanity, pronounced him su- 
perior to Homer." His works are the 
TEneid, The Georgics, and Eclogues. 



is 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



. ME 

1. We are not able to accomplish all 
things. 

_. Love conquers all things, and to 

love let us yield. 

3. Endure, and preserve yourselves 
for prosperous times. 

4. Accursed thirst for gold! what dost 
thou not drive mortal breasts to do? 

5. Whatever shall happen, every kind 
of fortune is to be overcome by patient 
endurance. 

6. The approach of an enemy quickens 
us to duty: let us remember that we have 
enemies about us at all times. 

T. Mj life is lived, and I have played 
The part that fortune gave ; 
And now I pass, a queenly shade, 
Majestic to the grave. 
8. To all that breathe is fixed the appointed 
date; 
Life is but short, and circumscribed by fate ; 
: Tis virtue's work by fame to stretch the 

span, 
Whose scanty limit bounds the days of man. 

QUINTUS HORACE, 

"Rome's superior lyric poet," was born at 
Venusia, Italy, December 8, 65, died No- 
vember 27, 8 B. C. He studied a num- 
ber of years at Rome, and then went to 
Athens to finish his education. He was a 
genial, frank, warm-hearted companion of 
Virgil. His poems have been read for 
nineteen centuries with extreme pleasure ; 
they contain moral beauty and sublimity 
with singular impressiveness; they bear 
the ripe fruits of his experience, and are 
full of wise reflections which do credit to 
his knowledge of men and manners. Stu- 
dents should read his Odes, Epistles, and 
Art of Poetry. 

GEMS. 

1. Use is the law of language. 

2. Avoid inquiring what is about to be 
to-morrow. 

3. To die for one's native land is sweet 
and glorious. 

4. The man of firm and noble soul 
No factious clamors can control. 

5. The increase of wealth ever brings with it 

care 
And hungry ambition for more. 

6. False praise can charm, unreal shame con- 

trol 
Whom, but a vicious or a sickly soul ? 



7. The cask will long retain the flavor 
of that with which it was first filled. 

<S. He has carried every point who has 
mingled the useful with the agreeable. 

9. It is right for one craving forgiveness 
for his sins, to grant it to others in turn. 

10. Consider well jr hat your strength is 
equal to, and what exceeds your ability. 

11. Justice, though moving with a tardy 
pace, has seldom failed of overtaking the 
wicked in their flight. 

12. Pale death approaches with an equal 
step, and knocks indiscriminately at the 
door of the cottage and the portals of the 
palace. 

13. Through an army of guards will bright gold 
make its way ; 
It will pierce through the thickest of walls ; 
More power it has and may strike more dis- 
may 
Than the lightning from heaven that falls. 

TITUS LIVY, 

"A model historical writer," was born at 
Patavium, March 4, 59 B. C, died May 
30, 17 A. D. He began his career as a 
rhetorician, and soon after entered upon 
the composition of his Annals, which 
when they were published, gave him his 
reputation. " He excels in depicting char- 
acter, whether directly by description, or 
indirectly in the actions or utterances of 
the old Roman worthies. " For forty 
years Livy labored on his history, and 
had finished 142 books at the time of his 
death. It is supposed that he intended to 
add eight more. Besides his Annals and 
History, his Horatius should be read. 

GEMS. 

1. Necessity is the ultimate and strong- 
est weapon. 

2. If you want character, achieye it by 
diligent effort. 

3. Wounds cannot be cured unless they 
are touched and handled. 

4. In nothing do events less answer to 
men's expectations than in war. 

5. In difficult and almost hopeless cases 
the boldest counsels are the safest. 

6. An injury done to character is so 
great that it cannot possibly be estimated. 

7. It is safer that a wicked man should 
not be accused at all than that he should 
be acquitted. 



Ko.MAN LITERATURE. 



19 



LUCIUS SENECA, 

" An orator and a great moral leader," 

was born at Cordova, March •Jl', 7 B. (., 

died November 2, 65 A. D. He made 
his mark, afi an orator, very early in life. 
He was a great moral leader, the fust of a 
class of philosophers who aimed at win- 
ning the people hack to the virtue of prim- 
itive Rome. Seneca was the author, not 
only of philosophical treatises, hut also of 
ten tragedies and 12 4 moral epistles. 
ii His style, labored, arithmetical, and full 
of repetitions, has an artificial glitter 
about it that impresses the reader favora- 
bly." Read his works on Anger, Conso- 
lation, and Providence. 

GEMS. 

1. To obey God is liberty. 

2. Those whom God loves, he disci- 
plines. 

3. How many are unworthy of the light ; 
yet the day dawns. 

4. No book is so good as to be profita- 
ble when negligently read. 

5. Some men, like pictures, are fitter 
for a corner than a full light. 

6. Levity of behavior is the bane of all 
that is good and virtuous. 

7. No enjoyment whatever can be 
agreeable without participation. 

8. On fickle wings the minutes haste, 
And fortune's favors never last. 

9. Apply thyself to the true riches. It 
is shameful to depend, for a happy life, on 
silver and gold. 

10. Let no man presume to give advice 
to others that has not first given good 
counsel to himself. 

11. If anger is not restrained, it is fre- 
quently more hurtful to us than the injury 
that provokes it. 

12. Nothing makes us more intemperate 
than luxury; when we are once weakened 
with our pleasures, everything becomes 
intolerable. 

13. When we are abroad, we can bear 
well enough with foul ways, nasty streets, 
noisome ditches ; but a spot upon a dish 
at home, or an unswept hearth, abso- 
lutely distracts us. 

14. It is my custom every night, as 
soon as the candle is out, to run over all 
the words and actions of the past day. 



What can be more reasonable than this 

daily review of a life that we cannot 
warrant lor a moment ? 

CAIUS TACITUS, 

"The greatest Roman historian," was 

horn in Rome September i.">, 54, died 

September 15, 1 1 8 A. D. Jle WtLi a suc- 
cessful orator and one of the greatest of 
Roman historians J he gave his attention 
very early in life to literature, and soon 
was foremost among prose writers. At 
the age of 45 he sent forth his " Agricola," 
an admirable biography of his father-in- 
law — "the hero of a hundred lights." It 
is particularly valuable for the light it 
casts on the history of Britain, and the 
influence of Roman institutions. All his 
works seemed to lead the minds of the 
people towards higher degrees of advance- 
ment. Among them are Agricola, Ger- 
mania, Histories, Annals, and Decline of 
Eloquence. 

GEMS. 

1. Everything unknown is magnified. 

2. There will be vices as long as there 
are men. 

3. Traitors are odious even to those 
whom they benefit. 

4. Cast away all things that keep you 
from being manly. 

5. When the state is most corrupt, the 
laws are most numerous. 

6. Good temper, like a sunny day, 
sheds a brightness over everything. 

7. It is a peculiarity of the human mind 
to hate one whom you have injured. 

8. When men are full of envy they dis- 
parage everything, whether it be good or 
bad. 

9. A bitter jest, when the satire comes 
too near the truth, leaves a sharp sting 
behind. 

10. The dearest gems lie deepest in the 
earth or the ocean, and are found only by 
toil and perseverance. 

ALIGHIERI DANTE, 

" The most brilliant star among Italian 
poets," was born in Florence, October 10, 
1 265, died June 7, 1321. Before arriving 
at the age of 20, he was raised to high 
positions in the government of his own 
city, through his profound learning and 



&0 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



sound judgment He began writing while 
yet a boy. and awakened B universal inter- 
est in the literature of the day by his at- 
tractive manner of presenting ideas and 
re-producing many of the popular features 
of Virgil's time in Rome. He is plaeed 
among the great lights of the world's 



Goethe, 



speare, broetne, Longfellow. 
Beatrice, The Prince of Verona 



He wrote 
Purga- 
tory, Paradise, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Delay has always been unfortunate 
to those who are ready. 

2. Fame is not won on downy plumes 
nor under canopies. 

3. faithful conscience, delicately clean, 
How doth a little failing wound thee sore. 

4. Stand firm as any tower which never 
shakes its top whatever wind may blow\ 



."». Three sparks — pride, envy and 
avarice — are those that have been kindled 
in all hearts. 

6. There is no greater grief than in 
misery to turn our thoughts back to hap- 
pier times. 

7. The customs and fashions of men 
change like leaves on the bough, some of 
which go and others come. 

8. Worldly fame is nothing but a 
breath of wind that blows now this way, 
now that, and changes name as it changes 
sides. 

9. My fancy wandered from theme to 
theme, till I closed my eyes with delight, 
and changed my meditation to a dream. 

10. The heaven that rolls around cries 
aloud to you, while it displays its eternal 
beauties, and yet your eye is fixed on 
earth alone. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



This division embraces sixty-eight of the illustrious names that sparkle among the 
hundreds on the pages of " Old England's Authors." It includes English, Scottish 
and Irish w T riters. May w T e not hope that the rich ears of " golden grain " gathered 
in this fertile field will incite students to glean more widely from the rich harvest 
awaiting earnest reapers ? In connection with each author, read and recite selections 
made by yourself. 



GEOFFREY CHAUCER, 

" The father of English poetry," was born 
in London, January 21, 1328, died Octo- 
ber 25, 1400. It is supposed that he was 
educated at Oxford, and in early life com- 
menced his literary career. He held many 
trustworthy appointments in the govern- 
ment, and performed his duties so well 
that he was highly esteemed by all the 
dignitaries. In his writings he displayed 
considerable satire w T ith a keen sense of 
the ludicrous, and the richest vein of comic 
narrative and delineation of character. 
His best works are Canterbury Tales 
(24 stories), Legend of Good Women, 
Complaint of Venus, Truth, Romance of 
the Rose, and Parliament of Birds. 



GEMS. 

1. Patience is a high virtue Canter- 
bury Tales. 

2. Truth is the highest thing a man 
may keep Franklin's Tale. 

3. Nature is the vicar of the Almighty 
Lord Truth. 

4. One ear heard it, and at the other 
out it went. — Canterbury Tales (Troilus). 

5. Counsel well thyself, that thou other 
folks canst counsel — Maxims. 

6. Friends ever each other must obey, 
If they will long hold company. 

Franklin's Tale. 

7. Of study took he most care and heed ; 
Not a word spake he more than was need. 

Canterbury Tales (Clerk). 



ENGLISH LITERATI I Ml. 



81 



B. Wheresoever thou comest, among high or 
low, 
Keep well thy tongue and think of the 

(TOW. /'/. 

9. So soft is flesh of mortals, thai on earth 
A truotl beginning doth no Longer Last 
Than while an oak may bring its fruit to 
birth. Id. 

10, The busy lark, the messenger of day, 

Saluteth in her SOng the morrow »iay : 

Am! fiery Phoebus riseth up so bright 

That all the orient Laugheth at the sight. 
The Knight' a Tale. 

SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 

One of Queen Elizabeth's favorites, was 
born in Devonshire, England, January- 
Si, 1552, died October 29, 1618. He 
was educated amidst naval and mili- 
tary enterprises, and yet surpassed, in 
the pursuits of literature, even those of 
the most recluse and sedentary lives. His 
History, both in style and matter, is vastly 
superior to all the English historical pro- 
ductions which had previously appeared. 
The broad career, from the cradle to the 
scaffold, of this renowned scholar, warrior, 
statesman, and writer, well deserves the 
study of every one. He wrote the His- 
tory of the World, Advice to His Son, 
The Strength of Kings, Uncertainty of 
Human Happiness, The Skeptic, Maxims 
of State, The Cabinet Council, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Never spend anything before you 
have it Counsels. 

2. Passions are likened best to floods 
and streams — Passions. 

3. Friendship rather chooseth harm to 
itself than offereth it. — Advice to His Son. 

4. Of death and judgment, heaven and hell 

Who oft doth think, must needs die well, 

The Pilgrimage. 

5. No man is so assured of his honor, 
riches, health or life, but that he may be 
deprived of either, or all, the very next 
hour — History Preface. 

6. Tell men of high condition, 
That rule affairs of State, 
Their purpose is ambition, 

Their practice only hate. The Lie. 

7. Silence in love bewrays more woe 

Than words, though ne*er so witty; 
A beggar that is dumb, you know, 
May challenge double pity. 

The Silent Lover. 



<s. Bestow thy youth so that thou mi 
have comfort to remember it 9 when it hath 
forsaken thee, ami not sigh and grieve at 
the account thereof. — Ailcl<-rt<> His Son. 

9. Even such is Time, that taket on trust 
Our youth, our joys, our nil we h.i 
And pays Hi hut with age and dttSt; 

And in the dark and silent gTi 

When we bare wandered all our ways, 

Shuts up the glory of our days. 

But from this earth, this grave, this dust, 

.My God shall raise me up, I trust! 

Hie Last Verses. 

EDMUND SPENSER, 

England's first poet-laureate, was born in 
East Smithfield, England, March 1, 1553, 
died January 13, 1591). After having ob- 
tained a liberal education, and special fa- 
vors from the queen, he found much time 
to devote to his choice of vocations — au- 
thorship. He is called the most luxuriant 
and melodious of all our descriptive poets; 
his creation of scenes and objects is infin- 
ite, and in free and sonorous versification 
he has not yet been surpassed. His lofty 
rhyme has a swell and cadence and a con- 
tinued sweetness that we can find nowhere 
else; only in richness of fancy and inven- 
tion does he fall below Shakespeare. Spen- 
ser wrote the Faery Queen, Tears of the 
Muses, Heavenly Beauty, Shepherd's Cal- 
endar, Astrophel, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. All that's good is beautiful and fair. 

Sojinet. 

2. The noblest mind the best contentment has. 

Faerg Queen. 

3. Who will not mercy unto others give, 
How can he mercy ever hope to have ? 

Tears of the Muses — Faerg Queen. 

4. Why then should I account of little pain 
What endless pleasures shall unto me gain? 

Heavenly Beauty. 

5. Oh, how can beauty master the most strong, 
And simple truth subdue avenging wrong? 

Faerg Queen ( Una). 

6. It is the mind that maketh good or ill, 
That maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor. 

■■// Queen. 

7. Oft when my spirit doth spread her bolder 

wings, 
In mind to mount up to the purer sky. 
It down is weighed with thought of earthly 
things, 
And clogged with burden of mortality. 

met. 



22 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



Don't lose good days that might be better 

spout. 

Don't waste long nights in pensive discon- 
tent. 

Don't speed to-day, to be put back to-mor- 
row. 

And teed on hope, to pine with fear and 
sorrow. Faery Queen (Una). 

9. Naught is there under heaven's wide hol- 
lo wness, 
That moves more dear compassion of mind, 
Than beauty brought to unworthy wretch- 
edness 
Through envy's snares or fortune's freaks 
unkind. Id. 

ROBERT SOUTHWELL, 

" The much lamented Jesuit martyr," was 
born in Norfolk, England, April 4, 1560, 
died February 21, 1595. He was edu- 
cated at the English college at Douay, in 
Flanders, and in Rome. At the age of 
24 he returned to his native country as a 
missionary, in which capacity he labored 
until he was executed for being a Romish 
priest. He had written many beautiful 
poems, which gained for him great popu- 
larity. They breathe a spirit of religious 
resignation, and are marked by beauty of 
thought and expression. His two longest 
productions were written in prison: St. 
Peter's Complaint and Mary Magdalene's 
Funeral Tears. He wrote, also, The Im- 
age of Death, Times Go by Turns, The 
Burning Babe, Content and Rich, etc. 

GEMS. 
1. He that high growth on cedars did bestow, 
Gave also lowly mushrooms leave to grow. 



2. We trample grass and prize the flowers of May, 
Yet grass is green when flowers fade away. 

Complaint. 

3. I feel no care of coin, 
Well doing is my wealth ; 
My mind to me an empire is, 
While grace affordeth health. 

Content. 

4. My ancestors are turned to clay, 
And many of my mates are gone ; 
My youngers daily drop away, 
And can I think to 'scape alone? 
No, no; 1 know that I must die, 
And yet my life amend not I. 

The Image of Death. 

5. Shun delays, they breed remorse ; 

Take thy time, while time is lent thee ; 
Creeping snails have weakest force ; 
Fly their fault, lest thou repent thee ; 



Good is best when soonest wrought. 
Ling'ring labors come to naught. 

Times (Jo by Tarns. 
G. The sea of Fortune doth not ever flow ; 

She draws her favors to the lowest ebb; 
Her tides have equal times to come and go ; 
Her loom doth weave the # fine and coars- 
est web ; 
No joy so great but runneth to an end, 
No hap so hard but may in time amend. 
Not always fall of leaf, nor ever spring ; ' 
Not endless night, yet not eternal day ; 
The saddest birds a season find to sing, 
The roughest storm a calm may soon 
allay ; 
Thus, with succeeding turns, God tempereth 

all 
That man may hope to rise, yet fear to fall. 
Times Go by Turns. 

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 

"The warbler in poetic prose," was born 
in Kent, England, November 29, 1554, 
died October 19, 1586. During his school 
days at Oxford he displayed remarkable 
acuteness of intellect and desire for knowl- 
edge : and early did he become an author. 
His best efforts in literature have been in 
prose, which is of an inspiring and invig- 
orating character; while his poetry is of 
the generally cold and affected style which 
receives little commendation. His ro- 
mance of Arcadia was so generally read 
and admired in the reigns of Elizabeth 
and her successors, that in 1633 it had 
reached its eighth edition. His writings 
are Arcadia, Defense of Poesie, Aristophel 
and Stella, Sonnets, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Learned men have learnedly thought. 
— Arcadia. 

2. Too much thinking and no doing 
doth consume the spirit — Id. 

3. They are never alone who are ac- 
companied with noble thoughts — Id. 

4. Oh ! make in me these civil wars to cease ; 
I will good tribute pay for a release. 

Sonnet. 

5. Come, sleep, sleep, the certain knot of 

peace, 
The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe, 
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's re- 
lease, 
The indifferent judge between the high and 
low. • Sonnet. 

6. The lightsome countenance of a 
friend giveth such an inward decking to 



ENGLISH LITERATIM r. 



23 



the house where it lodgeth, as proudest 
palaces have cause to envy the gilding. 

— Letter. 

7. Where onee reason hath so niueh 

overmastered passion, as that the mind 

hath a free desire to do well, the inward 
light each man hath, in itself is as good as 
a philosopher's hook. — Arcadia* 

FRANCIS BACON, 

"England's philosophical mind," was born 
in London, January 23, 1561, died April 
9, 1626. He was a graduate from the 
University at an earlier age than that at 
which most people repair thereto. While 
vet a boy he was plunged into the midst 
of diplomatic business. Thence he passed 
to the study of a technical system of law, 
and soon reached the highest post in his 
profession. lie took an active part in 
Parliament and was adviser of the crown. 
The founding of a new philosophy was 
only the amusement of his leisure ; he is 
best known to the people by his essays on 
all subjects. His Novum Organum and 
De Augmentis exhibit his extraordinary 
mind in the highest perfection. Among 
his other productions are New Atlantic, 
Praise of Knowledge, Wisdom of the An- 
cients, History of Henry VII. 

GEMS. 

1 . Knowledge is power Essays. 

2. Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain 
set. — Essays. 

3. Books must follow sciences, and not 
sciences books Id. 

4. Read, not to find talk and discourse, 
but to weigh and consider. — Id. 

5. The world's a bubble, and the life of man, 
Less than a span. Verses [The World). 

6. No pleasure is comparable to the 
standing on the vantage ground of truth. 
— Essay (Truth). 

7. The virtue of prosperity is temper- 
ance ; the virtue of adversity is forti- 
tude. 

8. As threshing separates the corn from 
the chaff, so does affliction purify virtue. 
— Id. 

9. Virtue is like precious odors, most 
fragrant when they are incensed or 
crushed. — Essay {Adversity). 

10. Reading maketh a full man; con- 



ference, a readj man; and writin-j. an ex- 
art man. — Bstap (Sfn>/ies). 

1 1. There is no vice that doth so cover 

a man with shame, as to be found false 

and perfidious — Id. 

12. A man that is young in years may 
be old in hours, if lie have lost no time ; 
but that happeneth randy. — Euayt. 

13. Some books are only to be read in 
parts; others, to be read, but not curi- 
ously ; and some few to be read wholly, 
and with diligence and attention. — Essay 
(Studies). 

14. That which is past is gone and ir- 
revocable, and wise men have enough to 
do with things present and to come ; there- 
fore those do but trifle with themselves 
who labor in past matters Essays. 

15. If a man write little he had need 
have a great memory; if he confer little, 
he had need have a present wit ; and if 
he read a little, he had need have much 
cunning, to seem to know that he doth 
not Essays. 

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, 

"The greatest poet ever lived," was born 
in Stratford-on-Avon, England, April 23, 
1564, died April 23, 1616. It is supposed 
that he received his education in the vil- 
lage school at home, and that he assisted 
his father (who was a wool dealer and 
glover), until, at the age of 25, he went to 
London and soon became one of the pro- 
prietors of Blackfriars Theatre. Here he 
wrote plays and acted on. the stage until 
1603, when he returned to Stratford, built 
a handsome house, and lived quietly, hav- 
ing the friendship and respect of his neigh- 
bors until he died. A greater dramatist 
and poet never lived. Besides many 
poems, he wrote thirty-seven dramas — 
tragedies, comedies, and histories. Among 
the first are Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, 
King Lear, Romeo and Juliet; second, 
Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, 
Much Ado About Nothing, Merry Wives 
of Windsor; third, Julius Csesar, Kings 
Henry IV. and V., Richard II. and III., 
John, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Brevity is the soul of wit Hamlet. 

2. Strong reasons make strong actions 
— King John. 



24 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



3. Ingratitude La a marble-hearted 
fiend. — King Lear, 

■1. Sweel mercy is nobility's true badge. 
— 7)' tits Andronieus. 

5. 'Tis the mind that makes the body 
rich. — Taming of the S/nnr. 

(>. Flowers are like the pleasures of the 
■world. 

7. Give every man thine ear, but few 
thy voice. — Hamlet. 

8. What stronger breastplate than a 
heart untainted? — King Henry VI. 

9. Oh, how wretched is that poor man 

that hangs on princes' favors King 

Henry VIII. 

10. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 
But in ourselves, that we are underlings. 
Julius Csesar. 

11. Ignorance is the curse of God; 
knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to 
heaven King Henry VI. 

12. Be just and fear not, 

Let all the ends thou aimst at be thy God's, 
Thy country's and truth's. 

King Henry VIII. 

13. Life, every man holds dear; but the dear 

man 
Holds honor far more precious dear than 
life. Pericles. 

14. The quality of mercy is not strained ; 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 
Upon the place beneath. 

Merchant of Venice. 

15. Neither a borrower nor a lender be : 

For loan oft loses both itself and friend, 
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. 

Hamlet. 

16. Sweet are the uses of adversity, 
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, 
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. 

As You Like It. 

17. Our doubts are traitors, 

And make us lose the good we oft might 

win 
By fearing to attempt. 

Measure for Measure. 

18. Ambition is like a circle on the water, 
Which never ceases to enlarge itself, 
'Till by broad spreading it disperse to 

naught. King Henry VI. 

19. To thine own self be true. 

And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man. . 

Hamlet. 

20. Who steals my purse steals trash ; 

But he that filches from me my good name, 
Robs me of that which not enriches him, 
And makes me poor indeed. Othello. 



21. There is a tide in the affairs of men, 
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to for- 
tune; 

Omitted, all the voyage of their life 
Is bound in shallows and in miseries. 

Julius Csesar. 

22. how much more doth beauty beauteous 

seem 
By that sweet ornament which truth doth 
givel 
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem 
For that sweet odor which doth in it live. 

Sonnet. 

23. To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 
To throw a perfume on the violet, 
To smooth the ice, or add another hue 
Unto the rainbow, or with taper light 

To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to 

garnish, 
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. 

King John. 

24. The web of our life is of a mingled 
yarn, good and ill together; our virtues 
would be proud if our faults whipped them 
not; and our crimes would despair if they 
were not cherished by our virtues. — All's 
Well That Ends Well. 

25. This is the state of man ; to-day he puts 
forth 

The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blos- 
soms, 

And bears his blushing honors thick upon 
him ; 

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost — 

And, when he thinks, good easy man, full 
surely 

His greatness is a-ripening — nips his root, 
. And then he falls. King Henry VIII. 

BEN JONSON, 

England's third Poet-Laureate (Samuel 
Daniel w r as the second) was born in West- 
minster, December 20, 1573, died August 
6, 1637. His poems and plays are 
numerous, of a varied character, exhibit- 
ing delicacy of fancy, fine feeling, wit, 
observation, judgment, memory, learning, 
and other intellectual excellencies which 
distinguished him. " Rare Ben Jonson " 
had great facility of expression, and an 
intimate acquaintance with the phenom- 
ena of inanimate nature, and the charac- 
teristic features of English landscape, as 
displayed in his lines on Penshurst» 
Among his works are the Silent Woman, 
The Forest, The Vision of Delight, 
Every Man in his Humor, Shakespeare, 
Volpone, Cynthia. 



ENr.USH LITERATURE. 






t.KMS, 

I. Nothing is lasting that is feigned. — 

Every Man in his Humor. 

•2. Virtue is the safest helmet, tin* most 

Becure defence. — Id. 

;;. Learn to be wise and practice how- 
to thrive Every Man in his Humor. 

■1. Do not spend your coin on every 
bauble yon fancy. — Every Man in his 

Humor. 

.'>. It behooves the high, for their own 
sake, to do things worthily. — Maxims. 
6. (Jive me a look, give me a face, 
That makes simplicity a grace. 

The Silent Woman. 

7. He knows not his own strength, that 
hath not met adversity Maxims. 

8. No man is so wise but lie may easily 
err, if he take no other counsel but his 
own. — Id. 

9. True happiness consists not in the 
multitude of friends, but in the worth and 
choice Every Man in his Humor. 

10. Language most show T s a man ; no 
glass renders a man's form or likeness so 
true as his speech. — Id. 

11. What honest man will either fear his own, 
Or else will hurt another's reputation ? 

Id. 

12. In small proportions we just beauties see: 
And in short measures life may perfect be. 

The Forest. 

13. Drink to me only with thine eyes, 
And I will pledge with mine; 

Or leave a kiss within the cup, 
And I'll not ask for wine. 



Id. 



THOMAS FULLER, 



"The earliest pulpit author," was born in 
Northampton, England, January 27, 
1608, died August 15, 1661. He received 
his education at Cambridge, where he won 
the highest university honors. He pub- 
lished his first poem when he was 23 years 
of age; it produced such a favorable im- 
pression that he felt encouraged to write 
more; and all through life — in the field, as 
a soldier, or in the pulpit — he improved 
his leisure time in collecting materials for 
his future productions. The style of all 
his writings is extremely quaint and idiom- 
atic, in short and simple sentences, ami 
singularly free from the pedantry of his 
time. He wrote David's Sin, Worthies 
of England, Good Thoughts in Bad Times, 



Good Thought! in Worae Times, Holy 

and Profane State, etc. 

GEMS— [.frOffl ftis Aji/iorisms.] 

1. Overburden not thy memory, to 

make so faithful a servant a -lave. — 

Rules. 

2. Fancy runs most furiously when a 
guilty conscience pursue- it. — Id. 

.'!. If vou do not wish to trade with the 
devil, keep out of his shop. — Aphorisms. 
4. (let the language, without which 

key thou shalt unlock little of moment. — 

Id. 

'). Lose not thine own for want of ask- 
ing for it ; 'twill get thee no thanks. — 
Id. 

6. Moderation is the silken string run- 
ning through the pearl chain of all virtues. 
—Id. 

7. It is dangerous to gather flowers 
that grow on the banks of the pit, for fear 
of falling in Id. 

8. Let friendship creep gently to a 
height; if it rush to it, it may soon run 
itself out of breath — Id. 

9. Goods acquired by industry prove 
commonly more lasting than lands by des- 
cent Id. 

10. Recreation is the breathing of the 
soul, which otherwise would be stifled with 
continual business — Id. 

11. A guilty conscience is like a whirl- 
pool, drawing in all to itself, which would 
otherwise pass by — Id. 

12. He that spends all his life in sport 
is like one who wears nothing but fringes 
and eats nothing but sauces. — Id. 

13. Know that, next to religion, noth- 
ing accomplished a man more than learn- 
ing. Learning in a lord is as a diamond 
in gold — Id. 

14. Correction may reform a negligent 
boy, but cannot amend a dull one ; as all 
the whetting in the world cannot set a 
razor's edge on that which hath no steel 
in it Hie Good Master. 

JOHN MILTON, 

"The blind poet of Britain," was born in 
London, December \K L608, died Novem- 
ber 8, 1674. He displayed brilliant poet- 
ical abilities at the age of sixteen, while a 
student at Cambridge university. In his 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE 



80th year, seeking to restore his health, he 
traveled for fifteen months through south- 
ern Europe. In L 652 he became blind, after 
which, with his daughter as amanuensis, 
he wrote his greatest works — Paradise 
Lost, and Paradise Regained. The style 
ot* Milton's verse was moulded on classic 
models, chiefly the Greek tragedians; but 
his musical taste, his love of Italian liter- 
ature, and the lofty and solemn cast of his 
own mind, gave strength and harmony to 
the whole. His minor poems alone would 
have rendered his name immortal, but 
there still wanted his great epic to com- 
plete the measure of his fame and the 
glory of his country. Besides Paradise 
Lost and Paradise Regained, he wrote 
Eikonoklastes, Sampson Agonistes, Hymn 
to the Nativity, Lycidas, Comus, and 
Sonnets. 

GEMS. 

1. Solitude sometimes is best society, 

And short retirement urges sweet return. 
Paradise Lost. 

2. TThat in me is dark, illumine; what 
is low, raise and support — Paradise Lost. 

3. Accuse not Nature, she hath done her part ; 
Do thou but thine. Paradise Lost. 

4. Truth is as impossible to be soiled by 

any outward touch as the sunbeam The 

Doctrine oj Divorce. 

5. The end of learning is to know God, 
and out of that knowledge to love and to 
imitate him Areopagitica. 

6. So dear to heaven is saintly chastity, 
That when a soul is found sincerely so 
A thousand liveried angels lackey her. 

Comus. 

7. A good book is the precious life-blood 
of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured 
up on purpose to a life beyond life. — Are- 
opagitica. 

8. Give me liberty to know, to think, 
to believe, and to utter freely, according 

to conscience, above all other liberties 

Id. 

9. A complete education fits a man to 
perform justly, skillfully, and magnani- 
mously, all the offices of peace and war. — 
Id. 

10. Prudence is that virtue by which 
we discern what is proper to be done under 
the various circumstances of time and 
place Id. 



11. Fame is no plant that grows on mortal 

soil, 

Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth 

raise 
To scorn delights, and live laborious days. 

Lycidas. 

12. Hail, bounteous May! that dost inspire, 
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire; 
Woods and groves are of thy dressing 
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. 
Thus we salute thee with our early song, 
And welcome thee and wish thee long. 

Song of May Morning, 

SAMUEL BUTLER, 

"The famous burlesque poet," was born 
in Strensham, England, February 13, 
1612, died September 25, 1680. Having 
received a grammar school education, he 
entered the list of authors at a very early 
age, and soon became distinguished for 
felicity of versification and a profusion of 
wit never excelled in our literature. His 
greatest work was Hudibras, the best bur- 
lesque in the English language; the same 
amount of wit, shrewdness, ingenious 
thought, felicitous illustration, and irre- 
sistible drollery was never before nor 
since comprised in the same limits. His 
works are Hudibras, To his Mistress, Ele- 
phant in the Moon, Characters, and Mis- 
cellaneous Thoughts. 

GEMS. 

1. Love is too great a happiness 
For wretched mortals to possess. 

Remains. 

2. For truth is precious and divine, 
Too rich a pearl for carnal swine. 

Hudibras. 

3. The truest characters of ignorance, 
Are vanity, pride, and arrogance. 

Remains. 

4. To have the power to forgive, 
Is empire and prerogative. 

And 'tis in crowns a nobler gem, 
To grant a pardon than condemn. 

Hudibras. 

5. In Rome no temple was so low 
As that of Honor, built to show 
How humble honor ought to be, 
Through there 'twas all authority. 

Remains. 

6. There are many men who have a 
strong curiosity to know what is said, who 
have no curiosity to know what is true — 
Miscellaneous Thoughts. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






7. Of Night*— 

The Mm grew low and left the skies, 
I'ut down, some say, bj ladies' eyes; 
The moon pulled off her veil of Light, 
That bides ber face by day from Bight. 
Hudibrcu, 

I T Morning: — 
The sun has long Bince, in the lap 

OfTheti8, taken out his imp. 

And. like a lobster boiled, the morn 

From black to red began to turn. 

Jludtbras. 

!». In all the world there is no vice 
Less prone t' excess than avarice : 
It neither eaics for food nor clothing; 
Nature's content with little — that with 
nothing. Hudibrus. 

JEREMY TAYLOR, 

M The Theological Shakspeare," was born 
in Cambridge, August 31, 1613, died 
August 13, 1GG7. lie was educated in 
Cains college, and soon became a leading 
clergyman. A liner pattern of a Chris- 
tian divine than Jeremy Taylor perhaps 
never existed ; his learning dignified the 
hijrh station he at last attained. His great 
aim was to purity the human mind, and fit 
it for a more exalted destiny. While he 
has been called the Shakespeare of our 
theological literature, he had not the unity, 
energy, nor profound mental philosophy of 
the great dramatist ; but he strongly re- 
sembles Spenser in his prolific fancy and 
diction, in musical arrangement and sweet- 
ness of expression, and in delicious mus- 
ings and reveries. He wrote Liberty of 
Prophesying, The Life of Christ, Holy 
Living, Golden Grove, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. All is well as long as the sun shines. 
— On Adversity. 

2. Life or death, felicity or a lasting 
sorrow, are in the power of marriage. — 
On Marriage. 

3. Every man is to give sentence con- 
cerning the state of his own soul by the 

precepts and rules of our Lawgiver Holy 

Dying. 

4. Spend not your time in that which 
profits not, for your labor and your health, 
your time and your studies, are very valu- 
able Sermon. 

5. He is not to be called a man without 
a wise and an adorned soul, a sold at least 



furnished with what if necepsarj towards 
his well being. — Holy hiving* 

<*>. The beaii of a sorrowful man, under 
the discourses of a wise comforter, breaks 
from the despairs of the grave, and the 

letters and chain- of sorrow. — Id. 

7. Look upon pleasures not upon that 

side which is next the sun; lor then they 

paint and smile, and dress themselves up 

in tinsel and glass gems and counterfeit 
imagery. — Id. 

8. Humility is like a tree, whose root. 
when it sets deepest in the earth, rises 
higher and spreads fairer, and stands surer 
and lasts longer, and every step of it- de- 
scent is like a rib of iron. — Holy Dying. 

JOHN BUNYAN, 

"The home-spun-style author," was born 
in Bedford, England, May 30, 1G28, died 
August 31, 1688. His employment at the 
tinker's trade, his limited advantages to 
secure an education, his profligacy, wick- 
edness, and sinful propensities generally. 
and then his reform, becoming a preacher 
and being thrown into jail, in which he 
made himself an illustrious name, are 
themes well worth the careful attention of 
every student. While in prison in Bed- 
ford, Bunyan composed several works 
which made him so popular that he has, 
by the assent of all writers and readers. 
been ranked with our English classics and 
great masters of allegory. "The tinker" 
wrote Pilgrim's Progress, Holy War, 
Abounding Grace. 

1. He that is down needs fear no fall. 
— Pilgrim's Progress. 

2. Let truth be free, to make her sallies 
upon thee and me — Id. 

3. Man while blind doth wander, for 
he knoweth not the way to the city of 

i God Id. 

4. Some things are of that nature as to make 
One's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth 
ache. / Apology. 

5. The formalist's house is as empty ot 
religion as the white of an ngg is of savor. 
— Pilgrim's Progress. 

('). In prajer it is better to have a heart 
without words, than words without a heart. 
— Id. 






OUTLINES OF LITKKATURE. 



7. It beareth the Dame of Vanity Fair, 
because the town where it is kept is Lighter 
than vanity. — Id. 

He that forgeta his friend is ungrate- 
ful to h i in : but he that forgets his Saviour 
is unmerciful to himself. — Id. 
;>. It' things that promise nothing do contain 
That bettor is than gold ; who will disdain 
To look that they may find it? 

First Apology for Pil. Prog. 

JOHN DRYDEN, 

•'The spotted author," and fifth Poet Lau- 
reate, was born in Oldwincle, England, 
September 9, 1631, died May 1, 1700. 
He was educated at Cambridge; began 
his literary career by a set of heroic stan- 
zas on the death of Cromwell ; wrote many 
poems of par excellence and much prose 
that gives him a fair reputation; and his 
satires were so favorably received that he 
was made poet laureate. He wrote no 
less than 27 dramas. Dryden was called 
" the spotted author" because he changed 
his religion so often and each time his 
style of writing, so that his works contain 
a mixture of the base and pure, of faults 
and virtues. Some of his productions 
are The Medal, The Hind and Panther, 
Don Sebastian, The Spanish Friar, The 
Rival Ladies, and 'Alexander's Feast. 

GEMS. 

1. Men are but children of a larger 
growth. — All for Love. 

2. When men lack teeth they begin to 
lack wisdom. — All for Love. 

3. It is an action of virtue to make ex- 
amples of vicious men — Discourse on Sa- 
tire. 

4. Enjoy the present smiling hour, 
And put it out of Fortune's power. 

Horace. 

5. That gloomy outside, like a rusty chest, 
Contains the shining treasure of a soul. 

Horace. 

6. The secret pleasure of a generous act. 
Is the great mind's great bribe. Id. 

1. For little souls on little shifts rely, 

And coward acts of mean expedients try. 
The Hind and the Panther. 

8. Wild ambition loves to slide, not stand, 
And fortune's ice prefers to virtue's land. 

Absalom. 

9. Heaven has to all allotted,' soon or late, 
Some lucky revolution of their fate. 

Absalom and Achilophel. 



10. Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow ; 
lie who would seek for pearls must dive be- 
low. All for Love. 

11. No impression can be made where 

there is no truth for the foundation 

Discourse on Safin-. 

12. 01) ! that I'd courage but to meet my fate, 
That short, dark passage to a future state. 

Epistles. 

13. For truth has such a face and such a mien, 
As to be loved needs only to be seen. 

The Hind and the Panther. 

14. Content is wealth, the riches of the mind ; 
And happy he who can that treasure find. 

Tales from Chaucer. 

15. I scarcely understand my own intent; 
But, silk-worm like, so long within have 

wrought, 
That I am lost in my own web of thought. 
Miscellanies. 

16. Happy the man, and happy he alone, 
He who can call to-day his own : 
He who secure within can say, 
To-morrow do thy worst — for I have lived 

to-day. Horace. 

17. Three poets [Homer, Virgil, Milton.] in 

three distant ages born, 
Greece, Italy, and England did adorn ; 
The first in loftiness of thought surpassed, 
The next in majesty, in both the last. 
The force of nature could no further go ; 
To make the third she joined the former 

two. On Milton. 

JOHN # LOCKE, 

" England's Powerful Reasoner," was 
born in Bristol, England, May 29, 1632, 
died October 28, 1704. He was educated 
in Oxford, and chose the profession of 
medicine; w r as raised to a number of high 
positions in the government. This meta- 
physician had no superior in comprehen- 
siveness and originality, and is noted for 
his skill and logical foresight, the natural 
result of his habits of mathematical study. 
His style is simple, pure, and expressive ; 
as he designed even his essays for general 
perusal, he wrote in language intelligible 
to every man of common sense. Students 
should carefully read and reflect upon his 
Essay on the Human Understanding, 
Thoughts on Education, Reasonableness 
of Christianity, Conduct of the Under- 
standing, and Discourse on the Miracles. 

GEMS. 

1. The chief art of learning is to at- 
tempt but a little at a time Essays. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






2. Nature commonly lodge* her treas- 
ures and jewels in rocky ground. — Id. 

:!. Truth, like gold, is not the lees so for 
being newly broughl out of the mine. — 
Essay. 

I. Let your will lead whither necessity 
would drive, and you will always preserve 

your liberty. — Essay. 

5. Judging is balancing an account, and 
determining on which side the odds lie. — 
Essays. 

t'.. Education begins the gentleman ; but 
reading, good company and reflection must 
finish him. — Id. 

7. One should not dispute with a man 
who, either through stupidity or shame- 
lessness, denies plain and visible truths — 
hi. 

8. The eagerness and strong bent of the 
mind after knowledge, if not warily regu- 
lated, is often a hindrance to it. — Id. 

9. He that sinks his vessel by overload- 
ing it, though it be with precious stones, 
will give his owner but an ill account of 
his voyage Essay. 

10. He that will stand to pick up and 
examine every pebble that comes in his 
way, is as unlikely to return enriched and 
ladened with jewels, as the other that 
traveled full speeed Essays. 

DANIEL DEFOE, 

"The father of the English novel," was 
born in London, September 5, 1661, died 
April 24, 1731. Though remembered 
chiefly as a novelist, he was during thirty 
years a leader in the fierce partisan strife 
by which, under William of Orange, con- 
stitutional liberty was realized in England, 
lie has been pronounced "the most thor- 
ough Englishman and writer of his day;" 
a model of integrity, and as consistent, 
sincere, and brave as he was gifted. The 
most prominent characteristic of his fic- 
tions is the distinctness of the reality 
which he gives to them by the elaborate 
and precise statement of details. After 
an indefatigable and checkered life, he died 

the author of 210 books and pamphlets, 
among which are The New Voyage 
Around the World. Memoirs of a Cava- 
lier, Journal of a Plague, Captain Single- 
ton, Colonel Jack, and Robinson Crusoe. 



MS. 

1. Necessity makes an honest man a 
knave. — < W. Jack. 

2. When flatterer! meet, Satan go 

dinner. — On Flattery. 

:;. The middle station of Life if calcu- 
lated for all kinds of virtues and 'njoy- 
mentS Robinson < 'rnsoe. 

4. ('.rent families of yesterday w« -how. 

And lords, whoso parent! were the Lord 
knows who. A < 

5. 'Tis not the one whose tongue most glibly 

^liilcs. 
That always just, the ri^ht or wrong decide?. 
The. Tnii- Hum Englishman. 

0. It is better to have a lion at the head 
of an army of sheep, than a sheep at tin- 
head of an army of lions. — Col. Jack. 
7. Wherever God erects a house of prayer, 
The devil always builds a chapel there; 
And 'twill be found upon examination. 
The latter has the largest congregation. 
The True Bom Englishman, 

8. Railing sermons, exciting people to 
hatred and contempt of their brethren, be- 
cause they differ in opinions, is not the way 
to peace and union Religious Satire. 

9. I then reflected that God, who was 
not only righteous but omnipotent, as he 
had thought fit thus to punish and afflict 
me, so he was able to deliver me. — Robin- 
son Crusoe. 

JONATHAN SWIFT, 

" The good Dean of St. Patrick's," was 
born in Dublin, November 20, 1G67, died 
October 19, 1745. After several years spent 
in indifference and numerous difficulties at 
Dublin University, he became a graduate 
in 169o. He occupied various ecclesiasti- 
cal offices until in 1713 he reached the 
position which gave him the title of Dean. 
lie is noted for originality and extraor- 
dinary abilities in the line of satire. He 
could wither with his irony and invective; 
excite to mirth with his wit and invention ; 
transport as with wonder at his marvelous 
powers of grotesque and ludicrous combi- 
nation, his knowledge of human nature, 
and assuming at pleasure different charac- 
ters and situations in life, lie wrote Gul- 
liver's Travels, The Tale of a Tub, Polite 
Conversation, Battle of the Books, Con- 
duct of the Allies, Directions for Servants, 
etc. 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



QEM& 

1. Bread is the staff of life The Title 

of a Tub. 

2, No wise man wishes to be younger. 
— Maxims. 

.*>. A nice man is a man of nasty ideas. 
— Thoughts* 

4. To be vain is rather a mark of hu- 
mility than pride — Ibid. 

5. The diamonds of learning lie far un- 
der the surface. — ibid. 

6. A wise man should have money in 

his head, but not in his heart Battle of 

the Booh. 

7. Common distress is a great promoter 
both of friendship and speculation. — Con- 
duct of the Allies. 

8. If a man maketh me keep my dis- 
tance, the comfort is he keepeth his at the 
same time Gulliver's Travels. 

9. The axe of intemperance lops off a 
drunkard's green boughs and leaves him a 
withered trunk Id. 

10. Laws are like cobwebs, which may 
catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets 
break through. — Id. 

11. True wit is like the precious stone 

Dug from the Indian mine, 
Which boasts two various powers in one, 
To cut as well as shine. Satire. 

12. 'Tis an old maxim in the schools 
That flattery is the food of fools , 
Yet now and then your men of wit 

^ Will condescend to take a bit. 

Cadenus. 

13. [Empty minds produce talkative 
persons.] People come faster out of 
church when it is almost empty, than 
when a crowd is at the door. — Thoughts. 

JOSEPH ADDISON, 

"The most ingenious prose writer of his 
age," was born in Weltshire, England, 
May 1, 1672, died January 17, 1719. 
lie was schooled at Oxford, where he dis- 
tinguished himself in Latin and his other 
studies; after which he soon reached great 
popularity through the fine specimens of 
literary workmanship which he contributed, 
to the Spectator, Tattler and Guardian. 
He wrote poetry, prose, and dramas ; and 
while his compositions possess finish and 
classic regularity, they are so cold and 
elaborate that the authorities of the pres- 



ent time do not give them place in the 
highest rank of literature, and yet a stu- 
dent who studies Addison will find a held 
whose exploration never ceases to be de- 
lightful and remunerative. He wrote 
Vision of Mirzah, Battle of Blenheim, 
Rosamond, Cato, Drummer, Freeholder, 
etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Man is but a shadow, and life a 
dream — Cato. 

2. How beautiful is death when earned 
by virtue! — Cato. 

3. 'Tis time to sheathe the sword and 
spare mankind Advice. 

4. Cleanliness may be defined to be 
the emblem of purity of mind Id. 

5. 'Tis not in mortals to command success, 
But we'll do more ; we'll possess it. 

Cato. 

6. Without constancy there is no love, 

friendship, nor virtue in the world 

Rosamond. 

?. When vice prevails and and impious men 
bear sway, 
The post of honor is the private station. 

Cato. 

8. Great souls by instinct to each other turn, 
Demand -alliance and in friendship burn. 

Cato. 

9. There is no blessing of life that is in 
any way comparable to the enjoyment of 
a discreet and virtuous friend — Leisure 
Hours. 

10. Of all the diversions of life, there is 
none so proper to fill up its empty spaces 
as the reading of useful and entertaining 
authors Id. 

11. Cheerfulness banishes all anxious 
care and discontent, soothes and composes 
the passions, and keeps the soul in a per- 
petual calm. — From Contributions to the 
Spectator. 

12. The unwearied sun, from day to day, 
Does his Creator's power display, 
And publishes to every land 
The work of an Almighty hand. 

Ode on Creation. 

13. A cheerful temper will lighten 
sickness, poverty, and affliction : it will 
make beauty attractive, knowledge delight- 
ful, and wit good-natured. — Contributed to 
the Spectator. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



81 



14. Liberty I thou go< l«l ess heavenly bright. 
Profuse of bliss, and pregnant with deligbtl 
Eternal pleasures in thy presence rei 

-Vinl smiling plenty leads thy wanton train. 
■■ r trout 1 'tul ;i. 

EDWARD YOUNG, 

"The driver in fancy," was born in 

Hampshire, England, December 1, 1681, 
died April 1-, 1765. Little is known of his 

first thirty years of life, except that he was 
educated at Winchester and Oxford. He 
entered the field of literature in 1712, and 
soon issued satires and tragedies of vigor- 
ous and admirable qualities; his poems 
contain noble and sublime thuught-gems 
pregnant with fancy, wit, and felicitous 
combinations. His Night Thoughts have 
eclipsed his other works, but his satires 
are poems of high merit, in many pass- 
ages equalling Pope. Besides his Night 
Thoughts, he wrote Revenge, Love of 
Fame, The Universal Passion, The Last 
Day, Queen Anne, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Procrastination is the thief of time. 
— Night Thoughts. 

2. A Christian is the highest style of 
life Ibid. 

3. Faith builds a bridge across the gulf 
of death Night Thoughts. 

4. The man is yet unborn who duly 
weighs an hour Id. 

5. How blessings brighten as they take 
their flight Id. 

6. Death loves a shining mark, a signal 
blow Id. 

V. The love of praise, howe'er concealed by art, 
Reigns more or less, and glows in every 
heart. Love of Fame. 

8. 'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours, 
And ask them what report they bore to 

heaven. Night Thoughts, on Time. 

9. What though we wade in wealth, or soar in 

fame, 
Earth's highest station ends in " here he 
lies." Night Thoughts. 

10. The man who builds, and wants wherewith 

to pay. 
Provides a home from which to run away. 
Lovt of Fame. 

11. How empty learning, ami how vain is art, 
But as it mends the life and guides the 

heart. Night Thoughts. 



12. Can wealth give liai.;- . iok around 

ami 

What gaj distress, what splendid nil 
Whatever fortune lavishly can pour, 

The mind annihilates, and asks for more. 

l.l. 

13. Think nought a trifle, though it small ap- 

pear ; 

Small sands make the mountains, ami mo- 
ments the year, 

And trifles Life. Love of Fame. 

l i. Can gold calm passion, or make re 
shine? 

Can we dig peace or wisdom from the mine? 
Wisdom to gold prefer ; for 'tis much 
To make our fortune than our happ 

Night Thoughts. 
15. I wake, emerging from a sea of dreams, 

Tumultuous, where my wrecked, despond- 
ing thought 
From wave to wave of fancied misery 
At random drove, her helm of reason lost. 
Life, Death and Immortality (Id.) 

GEORGE BERKELEY, 

" Who possessed every virtue under 
heaven," was born at Dysert Castle, Eng- 
land, March 12, 1685, died January 14, 
1753. He was educated at Trinity col- 
lege, Dublin, where he was distinguished 
for proficiency in mathematical knowledge. 
At the age of twenty -four he published his 
first work, which received such favor among 
scholars that he soon gave to the world 
another profound scientific treatise. The 
style of Berkeley has been greatly admired ; 
it is clear and unaffected, having the easy 
grace of the polished philosopher. His 
essays and treatises need to be studied 
to be appreciated ; among them are Theory 
of Vision, Passive Obedience, Human 
Knowledge, The Querist, A Word to the 
Wise, Analyst, Tar Water, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Industry is the natural sure way to 
wealth — Essay. 

2. When the heart is right there is true 
patriotism Maxims. 

3. He that would make real prog 

in knowledge must dedicate his age ;is 
well as youth at the altar of truth. — 
Maxim*. 

4. The muse, disgusted at an age and clime 
Barren of every glorious theme. 
In distant lands now wait- a better time 
Producing subjects worthy fame. 

J'rosjxcts in America. 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



r>. The mind cannot remain empty ; if 

you do not put into it that which is good, 
it a\ ill be sure to receive that which is 
bad. — Opinions. 

6. Westward the course of empire takes its 
way : 
The first four acts already past, 
A fifth shall close the drama with the day; 
Time's noblest offspring is the last. 

J'rosjiects in America. 

7. Have you ever thought how much 
useful information could be gained in a 
year by devoting thirty minutes a day to 
the searching in good literature for choice 
sentences ? — . 



JOHN GAY, 

"The gay country poet," was born in 
Devonshire, England, May 5, 1688, died 
December 4, 1732. Both of his parents 
died before he was six years old, and be- 
ing in reduced circumstances, he was un- 
able to secure much of an education, but 
he began to write very early and published 
several of his productions before he was 
twenty. Pope and Swift soon became his 
sincere and tender friends, and often 
shielded Gay from injurious criticism on 

some of his plays He has been styled 

the easy, indolent, good-humored poet, 
who painted life in the Dutch style, low 
and familliar, but correctly and forcibly 
drawn. He wrote Rural Sports, Shep- 
herd's Week, The Fan, The Captives, 
Beggar's Opera, The Wife of Bath, Polly, 
Fables, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. To friendship every burden's light. 
—The Fan. 

2. Sweet woman is like the fair flower 
in its lustre. — Song. 

3. Friendship, like love, is but a name, 
Unless to one you stint the flame. 

The Hare With Many Friends. 

4. 'Tis thus in friendship, who depend 
On many, rarely find a friend. Ibid. 

5. Those who in quarrels interpose, 

Must often wipe a bloody nose. 

The Mastiffs. 

6. Learning by study must be won, 
'Twas ne'er entailed from sire to son. 

Rural Sports. 

7. Life is a jest, and all things show it 

I thought so once ; but now I know it. 
My Epitaph. 



8. An open foe may prove a curse, 
Bui a pretended friend is worse. 

Folli,. 

9. How can they say that Nature 

lias nothing made in vain? 
Why then beneath the water 
Should hideous rocks remain. 

Shepherd's Week. 

10. Consider man, weigh well thy frame, 
The king, the beggar are the same ; 

Dust formed us all. Each breathes his day, 
Then sinks into his native clay. 

Melody. 

11. Love is a sudden blaze which soon decays; 
Friendship is like the sun's eternal rays; 
Not daily benefits exhaust the flame ; 

It still is giving, and still burns the same. 

Id. 

ALEXANDER POPE, 

"The child satirist," was born in London, 
May 22, 1688, died May 30, 1744. In 
his twelfth year he wrote satire and de- 
voted himself to the enthusiastic pursuit of 
literature and a course of self-instruction ; 
before he was sixteen part of his Pastorals 
and Translations were written. In none 
of his contemporaries was there found a 
more potent combination of those intellec- 
tual qualities which mainly contribute to 
an author's power. His translation of 
Homer show^s profound mental culture and 
thorough, elegant scholarship. All literary 
students will read Pope's Essay on Man, 
Essay on Criticism, the Dunciad, On the 
Use of Riches, Characters of Women, To 
a Lady, and To a Lord. 

GEMS. 

1. To err is human; to forgive divine. 
— Essay on Criticism. 

2. Charms strike the sight, but merit 
wins the soul TTieRape of the Lock. 

3. Worth makes the man, and want of 
it the fellow Essay on Man. 

4. One science only can one genius fit ; 
So wide is art, so narrow human wit. 

Essay on Criticism. 

5. Honor and shame from no condition rise; 
Act well your part, there all the honor lies. 

Essay on Man. 

6. On life's vast ocean diversely we sail, 
Reason the card, but passion the gale. 

Ibid. 
1. Know then thyself; presume not God to scan ; 
The proper studv of mankind is man. 

Ibid. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



88 



8. Judges and senates have been bought for 

gold: 
Esteem and love were never to be sold. 

Ibid. 

9. Tis education forms the common mind. 
Just :\s the twig is bent, the tree's Inclined. 

Euay on Morality. 

10. Know then this truth, enough for man to 

know, 
Virtue ulone is happiness below. 

I\ss,nj on Man. 

11. 'Tis with our judgments as our watches; 

none 
Are just alike, yet each believes his own. 
Easay on < riticwn. 

12. Unblemished let me live, or die unknown: 
grant an honest fame, or grant me none. 

Windsor Forest. 

13. Heaven from all creatures hides the book of 

Fate, 
All but the page prescribed, their present 
state. Essay on Man. 

14. Years following years steal something every 

day; 
At last they steal us from ourselves away. 

Epistles. 

15. Be thou the first true merit to befriend ; 
His praise is lost who waits till all commend. 

Essay on Criticism. 

16. Who shall decide when doctors disagree, 
And soundest casuists doubt like you and 

me ? Essay on Morality. 

1 7. Tli ere never was any party, faction, 
sect, or cabal whatsoever, in which the ig- 
norant were not the most violent. — Patri- 
otism. 

13. Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, 
As, to be hated, needs but to be seen ; 
But seen too oft, familiar with her face, 
We first endure, then pity, then embrace. 
Essay on Man. 

19. Judge not of actions by their mere effect ; 
Dive to the center, and the cause detect; 
Great deeds from meanest springs may take 

their course, 
And smallest virtues from a mighty source. 
Miscellanies. 

20. In words, as fashions, the same rule will 

hold; 
Alike fantastic, if too new or old : 
Be not the first by whom the new are tried, 
Nor yet the lust to lay the old aside. 

Essay on Criticism. 

21. Heaven, forming each on other to depend, 
A master, or a servant, or a friend, 

Bids each on other for assistance call, 
Till one man's weakness grows the strength 
of all. 



22. Bope leads from gOflJ to goal. 

And opens Still, ami open- on hi- lOul : 

Till lengthened on to faith, and nnconfined, 

It pom- the bliSf that fills up all the mind. 

2:5. A man should never be ashamed to 
own lie baa been in tli<- wrong-, which ifl 
but Baying, in other words, thai Ik- ia wiser 
to-day than he was yesterday. — Advice to 

a Coifs/it. 

JAMES THOMSON, 

" Nature's poet," was born in Ednam, 
England, September 11,1700, died August 
27, 1748. The gift of poesy came early to 
him, as shown by some lines written before 
he was fourteen. He received his degree at 
Edinburgh college, and then proceeded to 
London to make his fortune as a poet; in 
this he was not disappointed, for he became 
remarkably popular. Thomson bad trav- 
eled considerably, and in his writings he 
never slackened in his enthusiasm, nor 
tired of pointing out the phenomena of 
nature which he had surveyed under every 
aspect. He wrote Castle of Indolence, 
Seasons, Liberty, Coriolanus, Alfred, Ed- 
ward and Elenora, etc. 
GEM*. 
1. The kind impartial care of nature 
naught disdains Letter on Travels. 

2. Base envy withers at another's joy, 

And hates that excellence it cannot reach. 
The Seasons. 

3. 'Tis easier for for the generous to forgive 
. Than for offense to ask it. Id. 

4. Delightful task ! to rear the tender thought, 
To teach the young idea how to shoot. Id. 

5. Let no presuming railer tax 

Creative wisdom, as if naught was formed 
In vain, or not for formidable ends. Id. 

6. Hail, mildly pleasing solitude, 
Companion of the wise and good ! 
Oh ! how I love with thee to walk, 
And listen to thy whispered talk. 

On Solitude. 

7. I care not. Fortune, what you me deny ; 

You cannot rob me of free Nature's grace ; 
You cannot shut the windows of the sky. 
Through which Aurora shows her bright- 
ening face Oaatle of Indolence. 

8. The best of men have ever loved repose; 

They hate to mingle in the filthy fray, 
Where the soul sours, and gradual rancor 
grows, 
Imbittered more from peevish day to day. 

Id.' 



34 



OUTLINES OF LITERATI'!; I-:. 



i>. Oh, knew he but his happiness, of men 

The happiest he ! who far from public race. 
Poop in the vale, with :i choice few retired, 

Drinks the pure pleasures of the rural life. 
The Seasons. 

SAMUEL JOHNSON, 
"A mass of genuine manhood," was born 
in Litchfield, England, September 18, 
1709, died December 13, 1784. Even in 
bis childhood, the physical and intellec- 
tual peculiarities which afterward distin- 
guished the man were plainly discernible : 
great muscular strength, accompanied by 
much awkwardness and many infirmities; 
a kind and generous heart, with a gloomy 
and irritable temper. Learned men 
sought his company, but no one loved him ; 
he had an inexhaustible store of anec- 
dotes about the "gay and brilliant world." 
Dr. Johnson was noted for compiling a 
celebrated Dictionary of the English lan- 
guage. Most popular among his works are 
Vanity of Human Wishes, Irene, Ram- 
bler, Lives of the Poets, Rasselas, Vision 
of Theodore. 

GEMS. 

1. He who waits to do a great deal of 

good at once will never do anything 

Saying. ' 

2. Surely the equity of Providence has 
balanced peculiar sufferings with peculiar 
enjoyments — Rasselas. 

3. This mournful truth is everywhere con- 
fessed, 
Slow rises worth by poverty depressed. 

London. 

4. The two great movers of the human 
mind are the desire of good and the fear 
of evil. — Choice Thoughts. 

5. The superiority of some men is 
merely local ; they are great because their 
associates are little Id. 

6. How rarely reason guides the stubborn 
choice 
Rules the bold hand, or prompts the sup- 
pliant voice. 

Vanity of Human Wishes. 
7. Knowledge is of two kinds: we know 
a subject ourselves, or we know where to 

find information upon it BoswelVs Life 

of Johnson. 

8. Catch, then, oh ! catch the transient hour, 
Improve each moment as it flies ; 
Life's a short summer — man a flower; 
He dies — alas ! how soon he dies. 

Winter. 



0. Hope is the chief blessing of man ; 
and that hope only is rational of which we 

arc sensible that it cannot deceive us 

Choice Thoughts. 

10. Condemned to Hope's delusive mine, 

As on we toil from day to day, 

By sudden blasts or slow decline, 

Our social comforts drop away. 

On the death of Dr. Levett. 

11. A man has no more right to say an 
uncivil thing than to act one ; no more 
right to say a rude thing to another than 
to knock him clown. — Choice Thoughts. 

12. Hard is his lot that, here by fortune placed, 

Must watch the wild vicissitudes of taste ; 

With every meteor of caprice must play, 

And chase the new-blown bubble of the 

day. 

Prologue at the opening of Drury Lane Theatre. 

13. A wise man will make haste to for- 
give, because he knows the true virtue of 
time, and will not suffer it to pass away 
in unnecessary pain Choice Thoughts. 

14. The stream of time which is con- 
tinually washing the dissolvable fabrics of 
other poets, passes without injury by the 
adamant of Shakespeare On Shake- 
speare. 

DAVID HUME, 

The beloved Scottish historian and phil- 
osopher, was born in Edinburgh April 25, 
1711, died August 25, 177G. After at- 
tending the university of his native city, 
and spending several years abroad in 
literary study, he wrote and published his 
first philosophical work; his history ap- 
peared somewhat later; it is acknowledged 
to be one of the most easy, elegant, and 
interesting narratives in the language. 
Hume's productions generally are remark- 
able for research, discrimination, and for 
elegance of style, and must be regarded as 
an honor to British literature. Among 
them are History of England, Essays, 
Natural History of Religion, Dialogues, 
Political Discourses, On Life, Trea- 
tises. 

GEMS. 

1. Remove the vices and the ills follow. 
— Effects of Luxury. 

2. I see death gradually approach with- 
out any anxiety or regret — Essays. 

3. When the affections are. moved there 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



88 



is do peace for the imagination. — On Sim- 
plicity. 

4. Virtue, like wholesome food, is l>ct- 
ter than poisons however corrected. — 
Effect* of Luxury. 

5. Nothing is bo improving to the tem- 
per as the Btudies of the beauties, either 
of poetry, eloquence, music, or painting. 
— On Delicacy of Taste. 

6. Queen Elizabeth, by the force of 
her mind, controlled all her more active 
and stronger qualities and prevented them 
from running into excess. — Character of 
Elizabeth. 

7. lie is happy whose circumstances 
suit bis temper: but he is more excellent 
who can suit his temper to any circum- 
stances. — Essays. 

THOMAS GRAY, 

•• A poet of the sublimest of sublimity," 
was horn in London, November 2(5, 171G, 
died July 30, 1771. After completing 
his college education he took a twelve 
month's tour with Horace Walpole, through 
France and Italy. He then went to 
Cambridge and received his degree in 
civil law, but instead of following that 
profession he devoted himself to literature, 
'in which he holds a high rank from the 
energy, splendor, and perfect finish of his 
poetic style. Dr. Johnson said: " Gray's 
Elegy abounds with images which find a 
mirror in every mind, and with sentiments 
to which every bosom returns an echo." 
He wrote Progress of Poesy, Ode to Ad- 
versity, Eton College, The Bard, Obscur- 
ity, Oblivion, Government, Education, 
Elegy in a Churchyard. 

GEMS. 

1. Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly 
to be wise. — Ode to Eton College. 

2. The generous spark extinct revive, 
Teach me to love and to forgive. 

Hymn on Ad certify. 

3. The hues of bliss more brightly glow, 
Chastised by sabler tints of woe. 

Ode to Vicissitude 

4. And many a holy text around they strew 
Who teach the rustic moralist to die. 

Elegy. 

5. When we trust to the pictures that 
objects draw of themselves on our mind, 
we deceive ourselves On Traveling. 



6. Bright Rupture culls, ami MAling M 

•in [ 

Wave- in tin- eye of Heaven her many col- 
ore 1 \vi, [ Tht !■ 

7. Not all that tempts your \varnh 

Ami heedless hearts is lawful prize, 

Nor all that flitters gold. 

Ode on the /)>u(/( i,t : Cot. 

8. Gay hope is theirs, by fancy fed, 

Less pleasing when D088eS8ed j 
The tear forgot as soon as shed, 
The sunshine of the brea-t. 

< hi, I,, Eton < blleye. 

9. The meanest floweret of the vale, 

The simplest note that swells the gale, 
The common sun, the air. the skies, 
To him are opening paradise. 

The Bard. 

10. To each his sufferings: all are men. 
Condemned alike to groan ; 

The feeling for another's pain, 
The unfeeling for his own. 

Ode on Eton College. 

11. The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power. 
And all that beauty, all that wealth ere 

gave, 
Await alike the inevitable hour : — 
The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. 

12. Full many a gem of purest ray serene, 

The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear; 
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 

Elegy. 

13. Can storied urn, or animated bust. 

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ? 
Can honor's voice provoke the silent dust 
Or flattery soothe the dull cold ear of death? 

Elegy. 

14. The thoughtless world to majesty may bow, 
Exalt the brave and idolize success; 

But more to innocence their safety owe 
Than Power, or Genius, e'er conspired to 
bless. 

WILLIAM COLLINS, 

" The ethereal bard," was born in Chi- 
chester, Eng., December 25, 1721, died 
December 17, 1759. He had received a 
learned education before he was twenty- 
two, having taken the degree of B. A., at 
Oxford ; then applied himself to literature, 
but the fine promise of his youth, his 
ardor and ambition, melted away under 
the depressing influence of disappointment 
in not being able to attract attention and 
create enthusiasm in literary circles. His 
poems arc small in number and amount, 
but they are rich in vivid imagery and 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



beautiful description. — Among them :m> 
Ode to Pity, Douglas, Eclogues and Pas- 
sions. 

GEMS. 

1. Music I Sphere-descended maid, 
Friend o\ Pleasure, Wisdom's aid. 

The Passions. 

2. Well may your hearts believe the truth I 

tell; 

Tis virtue makes the bliss where'er we 
dwell. Eclogue. 

3. There Honor conies, a pilgrim gray, 

To deck the turf over the soldier's clay ; 

And Freedom shall awhile repair 

To dwell a weeping hermit there. Ode. 

4. Cursed be the gold and silver which per- 

suade, 
"Weak men to follow far fatiguing trade ! 
The lily peace outshines the silver store, 
And life is dearer than the golden ore. 

. Eclogue. 

5. How sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blest ! 
When spring with dewy fingers cold, 
Returns to deck their hallowed mould, 
She there shail dress a sweeter sod, 
Than fancy's feet have ever trod. Ode. 

OLIVER GOLDSMITH, 

" The Irish poet of misfortunes," was born 
in Pallas, Ireland, November 16, 1728, 
died April 3, 1774. He was one of the 
most unfortunate of human beings, having 
undertaken many professsions, but failed 
in them all ; there was in his character 
much to love, but little to respect; his 
heart was soft even to weakness ; he was 
so generous that he quite forgot to be just. 
He was, in conversation, an empty, noisy, 
blundering rattle, yet no person everwrote 
with more perspicuity, vivacity and grace. 
Few authors possessed finer qualities of 
heart and of intellect, and no productions 
are admired more than Goldsmith's for 
sweetness of sentiment. He was truly a 
poet, a novelist, and a historian. Read 
his Vicar of Wakefield, The Traveller, 
Deserted Village, The Hermit, She Stoops 
to Conquer, and Histories. 

GEMS. 

1. Man wants but little here below, 

Nor wants that little long. The Hermit. 

2. The triumphs that on vice attend, 
Shall ever in confusion end. 

TheCaptivity. 

3. To me more dear, congenial to my neart, 
One native charm than all the gloss of art. 

The Deserted Village. 



4. Could Nature's bounty satisfy the breast, 
The sons of Italy were surely blest. 

The Traveller. 

5. For just experience tells in every soil, 
That those who think must govern those 

who toil. Id. 

6. Such is the patriot's boast, where'er we 

roam. 
His first, best country ever is at home. 

Id. 

7. Our happiness depends much oh the 

temper and regulation of our mind 

Sayings. 

8. Our greatest glory consists not in 
never falling, but in rising every time we 
fall — The Hermit. 

9. Modesty seldom resides in a breast 
that is not enriched with nobler virtues. 
—Id. 

10. Some are born with a wooden spoon 
in their mouths, and some with a golden 
ladle Sayings. 

11. In nature's simplest habits clad, 
Nor wealth nor power had he ; 
Genius and worth were all he had. 

But these were all to me. The Hermit. 

12. What is friendship but a name, 
A charm that lulls to sleep ! 

A shade that follows wealth or fame, 
But leaves the wretch to weep Id. 

13. Hope, like the glimmering taper's light, 
Adorns and cheers the way. 

And still, as darker grows the night, 
Emits a brighter ray. The Captivity. 

14. Fortune is ever seen accompanying 
industry, and is as often trundling a wheel- 
barrow as lolling in a coach and six — 
She Stoops to Conquer. 

EDMUND BURKE, 

"An orator of mighty understanding and 
piercing eloquence," w<as born in Dublin 
January 13, 1729, died July 8, 1794. He 
was a graduate from Trinity College, in his 
native city, and then gave some attention 
to the legal profession in London. After 
holding several prominent political posi- 
tions, he was raised to a seat in parliament, 
during which time he, with his illustrious 
contemporary, Pitt, became especially re- 
nowned in the debate on the Revolution- 
ary War in America. He is best known 
through these speeches and the one on the 
impeachment of Warren Hastings. From 
his pen we have a Vindication of Natural 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






Society, Ideas <»n the Sublime and Beau- 
tiful, The French Revolution, The Short 
Administration, etc. 

ul- MS. 

1. Slavery is a weed that gTOWSin every 
soil. — On Conciliation with America. 

'2. Early and providenl fear is the moth- 
er of safety. — From a Speech* 

8. Reading without reflecting is like 
eating without digesting. — On the Beauti- 

fid. 

I. Respecting ourselves, we shall be re- 
spected by the world. — On tin' Sublime. 

.">. There is. however, a limit, at which 
borbearance ceases to be a virtue. — From 

a Speech. 

G. Fortunate man, if he live to see noth- 
ing that shall cloud the setting of his clay. 

— hi. 

7. It is better to be despised for too 
anxious apprehension than be ruined by 
too confident security Id. 

8. He that wrestles with us strengthens 
our nerves and sharpens our skill ; our an- 
tagonist is our helper. — From an Address. 

9. Vice incapacitates a man from all 
public duty ; it withers the powers of his 
understanding, and makes his mind para- 
lytic. — On the Sublime. 

10. In history a great volume is un- 
rolled for our instruction, drawing the 
materials of future wisdom from the errors 
and infirmities of mankind On the Revo- 
lution. 

II. I thought ten thousands swords 
must have leaped from their scabbards to 
avenge even a look that threatened Marie 

Antoinette with insult Reflections on the 

French Revolution. 

12. The elevation of the mind ought to 
be the principal end of all our studies; 
which, if they do not in some way effect, 
they will prove of very little service to us. 

— On the Sublime. 

WILLIAM COWPER, 

''The best of English letter writers," Wa8 
born in Berkhamstead, England, Novem- 
ber 15, 1731, died April 25, 1800. Hav- 
ing received a good education and bavins 
early lost his parents, he lived for a long 
time a religious recluse, shadowed by a 
mental gloom; he, however, recovered 



from this morbidness and gave to the 
world poems and hymns which are prolific 
in sparkling gems of thought. While he 
is not universally ranked among the great- 
est of poet--, yet no productions have been 

more favorably received and eagerly lead 

by admirers of glittering poetical beauties. 
Cowper will always hold an honorable 
place in literature. Students delight in 
perusing his John Gilpin's Ride, Alexan- 
der Selkirk, The Task, The Castaways, 
Table Talk, and his Hymns. 

GEMS. 
1. God made the country and man 
made the town The Task. 

2. Who gives the lilies clothing 
Will clothe his people too. 

Joy and Peace in Believing. 

3. Variety is the very spice of life, 

That gives it all its flavor. The Task. 

4. An idler is a watch that wants both hands ; 
As useless if it goes as if it stands. 

Retirement. 

5. Our wasted oil unprofitably burn<. 

Like hidden lamps in old sepulchral urns. 
Conversation. 

6. 'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower 
Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume. 

The Task. 

1. Thus happiness depends as nature shows 
Less on exterior things than most suppose. 
Table Talk. 

8. Happy the man who sees a God employed 
In all the good or ill that checkers life. 

The Tank. 

9. He is a free man whom the truth makes free. 
And all are slaves beside. The Task. 

10. Some men employ their health — an ugly 

trick — 
In making known how oft they have been 
sick Conversation. 

11. God moves is a mysterious way 

His wonders to perform ; 
He plants his footsteps in the sea. 

And rides upon the storm. Hymn*. 

12. There's mercy in every place ; 

And mercy, encouraging thought! 
Gives even affliction a grace. 
And reconciles man to his lot. 

Alexander Selkirk. 

13. Blind unbelief is sure to err, 

And scan his work in vain : 

God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain. 

Light Shining Out of Dark 



88 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



14. A glory gilds the sacred page, 

Majestic like the sun. 
It gives a light to every age; 

It gives, but borrows none. 

The Light a>M Qlory of the Word. 

15, Religion ! what treasure untold 

Resides in that heavenly word! 

More precious than silver or gold, 

Or all that this earth can afford. 

Alexander Selkirk. 
1(3. I would not enter on my list of friends, 

Though graced with polished manners and 

line sense. 
Yet wanting sensibility, the man 
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. 

Mercy to Animals. 

17. Faults in the life breed errors in the brain, 
And these reciprocally, those again 

The mind and conduct mutually imprint, 
And stamp their image in each other's mint. 
The Progress of Error. 

18. My mother ! when I learned that thou wast 

dead, 
Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I 

shed? 
May I but meet thee on that peaceful shore, 
The parting sound shall pass my lips no 

more. 

On the Receipt of His Mother 's Picture. 

JAMES BEATTIE, 

" Scotland's brilliant author," was born in 
Kincardine, October 26, 1735, died Au- 
gust 18, 1803. Having reached great pro- 
ficiency in his various studies, he was 
elected professor of moral philosophy and 
logic in the Marischal College, Aberdeen, 
in w r hich he had been educated. He soon 
appeared in his true character as a poet. 
Beattie was a sincere lover of truth and 
virtue, but his ardor led him at times into 
intolerance, and he was too fond of court- 
ing the approbation of the great. His 
"Minstrel" was received with unbounded 
applause ; honors from all sources flowed 
in upon him ; he was admitted into dis- 
tinguished circles everywhere. He wrote 
also, Morning Landscape, Life of Im- 
mortality, Retirement, and Essays. 

GEMS. 

1. A keen, penetrating look indicates 
thoughtfulness and spirit — Essays. 

2. Who can tell how hard it is to climb 

The steep where Fame's proud temple shines 
afar ! The Minstrel. 

3. Though richest hues the peacock's plumes 

adorn, 
Yet horror screams from his discordant throat. 

Ibid. 



4. how canst thou renounce the boundless 
store 
Of charms which Nature to her votary yields ! 

J bid. 

5. Every thought that partakes of the 
nature of passion has a correspondent ex- 
pression in the look and gesture. — Essays. 

6. The assaults of discontent and doubt repel ; 
And let us hope, — to doubt is to rebel, — 
Let us exalt in hope that all shall yet be well. 

The Minstrel. 

7. Liberal, not lavish is kind Nature's hand: 
Nor was perfection made for man below ; 
Yet all her schemes with nicest art are 

planned, 
Good counteracting ill, and gladness woe. 

Id. 

8. Roll on, thou fair orb, and with gladness 

pursue 
The path that conducts thee to splendor 

again ; 
But man's faded glory what change shall 

renew ? 
Ah, fool ! to exult in a glory so vain. Id. 

HANNAH MORE, 
" The sweet dramatist," was born in 
Gloucestershire, Eng., February 2, 1745, 
died September 7, 1833. She commenced 
her literary work in early life, for at the 
age of sixteen she wrote and published a 
pastoral drama which', in a short time 
went through three editions, so great were 
its sales. Several of the tragedies pro- 
duced by her were acted for a number of 
successive nights at Drury Lane, to 
crowded houses. While very little of 
Miss More's poetry became popular, her 
dramas were unsurpassed by any writer of 
her time, and it is clear that the author 
might have excelled as a dramatic writer 
had she devoted herself to that difficult 
species of composition. She wrote Sir 
Eldred of the Bower, The Bleeding Rock, 
The Fatal Falsehood, Percy, Coebels in 
Search of a Wife, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. A small unkindness is a great of- 
fence Trifles. 

2. The soul on earth is an immortal guest, 
Compelled to starve at an unreal feast. 

Wisdom. 

3. In men this blunder still you find, 
All think their little set mankind. 

Florio. 

4. Small habits well pursued betimes, 
May reach the dignity of crimes. 

Bas Bleu. 



ENCJLISH LITERATURE. 



39 



5. Who Batten is of all mankind the Ion i 

he who courts tbe flattery. Fla 

6. Qncontrolled ambition graspa al once, 
Dominion absolute and boundless wealth. 

Dramas. 

7. To be good and disagreeable ia high 
treason against the royalty of virtue. — 
On Virtue. 

8. Method is the binge of business, and 
there is no method without order and 
punctuality. — On Mr/ /tut/. 

9. The keen spirit 

a the prompl occasion — makes the 
thought 
Start into instanl action, and at once, 
Plans and performs, resolves and executes. 

Actio /t. 

10. Oh ! the joy 

Of young ideas painted on the mind, 

In the warm glowing colors fancy spreads 

On subjects not yet known, when all is 

new. 
And all is lovely. 

11. Ah! when did wisdom covet length of 

days, 
Or seek its bliss in pleasure, wealth or 

praise ? 
No : wisdom views, with an indifferent eye, 
All finite joys, all blessings born to die. 

Wisdom. 

12. One of the first lessons that should be 

inculcated, is that God has not sent us into 

this world to give us consummate happi- 

. but to train us to those habits which 

lead to it Our Happiness. 

RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, 

" The prodigy in comedy," was born in 
Dublin September 30, 1751, died July 7, 
1816. After receiving a good education 
he was admitted to the bar. and practiced 
law for many years. He had written nu- 
merous dramas before his twentieth year; 
and, when he was twenty-four, produced 
his comedy of " The Rivals," which 
speedily became the universal favorite it 
has ever since remained. Both in wit and 
success as a dramatist he eclipsed all his 
contemporaries, for no other wrote with 
such felicitous combination of humor and 
satire. In addition to the Rivals, he wrote j 
St Patrick's Day, The Critic, The School 
for Scandal, Pizarro, The Duenna, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Filial piety ! It is the primal bond 
of society — 77te Critic. 



2. We serve a monarch whom we love 

— a God whom we adorn. — Id. 

;;. 1 cannot bear to hear people attacked 

behind their backs. — hi. 

4. Conscience has do more to do with 

gallantry than it has with politics. — The 

Dllt'ltltd. 

."». To smile at the jest thai plants a 

thorn iii another's breast is to become a 
principal in the mischief. — The ( 

6. The faith we follow teaches us to live 
in bond- of charity with all mankind, and 
die with hopes of bliss beyond the grave. 
— Id. 

ROBERT BURNS, 
" The Skakespeare of Scotland," was born 
in Ayrshire, January 2o, 1759, died July 
22, 1790. lie commenced to compose at 
a very early age and acquired a consider- 
able relish for association of a literary na- 
ture; but, being a peasant born, fortune 
did not permit him to enjoy them in a de- 
gree of which he was capable. His youth- 
ful productions glowed with such tender- 
ness and pure humor that certain persons 
who had read the manuscript aided the 
poet in having a volume published. This 
was such a successful venture that he felt 
encouraged to continue until his poems 
were numbered by hundreds. On the 
whole his literary career was conspicu- 
ously successful, and he left not only an 
honored name, but enduring fruits of his 
genius and industry. He wrote Tarn 
O'Shanter, Auld Lang Syne, Highland 
Mary, Man Was Made to Mourn, Cotter's 
Saturday Night, Mountain Daisy, John 
Barleycorn, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. The heart benevolent and kind, the 
most resembles God. — Early Poem. 

2. Time but the impression stronger makes, 
As streams their channels deeper wear. 
To Mary in Heaven. 

3. I despise the superstition of a fanatic, 
but I love the religion of a man. — Letter. 

4. wad some pow'r the giftie gie us 
To see.oursels as other- Bee 0.8 : 

It wad 1'rae inony a blunder tree Qfl 

And foolish notion. To a Louse. 

5. What is life when wanting love ? 

Night without a morning : 
Love's the cloudless Bummer sun, 
Nature gay adorning. 

Sony to a Fair One. 



40 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



-<vm fevorites o\' fate, 
Id pleasure's Lap carest : 

Yet think not all the rich and great 
Are Likewise truly blest. 

Man Was Made to Mourn. 
7. Ask why God made tlie gem BO small. 
Ami why so huge the granite? 
Because God meant mankind should set 
The higher value on it, 

Written on a ^Yindsor Fane. 
S. O man. while in thy early years, 
How prodigal of time! 
Misspending all thy precious hours, 

Thy glorious youthful prime ! Id. 

9. If happiness has not her seat 
And centre in the breast, 
We may be wise, or rich, or great, 

But never can be blest. Happiness. 

10. Life is but a day at most, 

Sprung from night in darkness lost ; 
Hope not sunshine every hour, 
Fear not clouds will always lower. 

Lines in Friars Hermitage. 

11. But pleasures are like poppies spread ; 
You seize the flower, the bloom is shed, 

. Or like the snow-fall in the river, 
A moment white then melts forever; 
Or like the borealis race 
That flits ere you can point its place ; 
Or like the rainbow's lovely form, 
Evanishing amidst the storm. 

Tarn O'Shanter. 

JOANNA BAILLIE, 

"Scotland's loveliest poet," was born in 
Bothwell, February 21, 1762, died Febru- 
ary 23, 1851. She was the daughter of a 
minister who died while she was quite 
young ; she then went with her brother to 
London, where she was educated and be- 
gan her work as a writer of beautiful 
poems and popular dramas. He first in- 
tention was to illustrate the effect of a sin- 
gle ruling passion on life and character, 
and having studied the passions of a num- 
ber of important persons, she succeeded 
admirably in portraying their influence. 
Her dramas, though lauded by the most 
competent critics, received but moderate 
success when acted on the stage. Miss 
Baillie's principal works are Plays on the 
Passions, De Montford, The Separation, 
The Bride, The Martyr, and The Kitten. 

GEMS. 

1. Noon of day ! in sunshine bright, 
What art thou to the fall of night? 

Time. 



2. Heaven oft in mercy smites even 
when the blow severest is Mercy. 

8. O Time, bid me good night, and in 

a brighter clime bid me good morning 

On Time. 

4. Chide not her mirth who was sad yesterday, 
And may be so to-morrow. 

ret ure of Countr I/ Life. 

5. I've held my warfare through a, troubled 

world, 
And borne with steady mind my share of 
ill. Flays on the Fassions. 

6. I believe this earth on which we stand 
Is but the vestibule to glorious mansions, 
Through which a moving crowd forever 

press: On to Eternity. 

1. Oh, who shall say that fame, 
Is nothing but an empty name ! 
Whilst in that name there is a charm, 
The nerve to brace, the heart to warm. 

Fame. 

8. Friendship is not a plant of hasty growth, 
Though planted in esteem's deep soil ; 
The gradual culture of kind intercourse 
Must bring it to perfection. 

Growth of Friendship. 

9. Doth the bright sun from the high arch of 

heaven. 
In all his beauteous robes of fleckered 

clouds, 
And ruddy vapors, and deep glowing 

flames, 
And softly varied shades, look gloriously ? 
Prince Edward. 

MARIA EDGEWORTH, 
" One of the best painters of national man- 
ners," was born in Reading, England, 
January 1, 1767, died May 21, 1849. 
She was educated by her father who was 
an author, and became his assistant both 
in business affairs and in literary pursuits. 
All her writings are characterized by 
strong good sense, practical judgment, and 
high moral tone. The long series of ex- 
cellent novels and tales for which she was 
celebrated, began in 1801. Her senti- 
ments are so just and true, and her style 
so clear and forcible, that they compel an 
instant assent to her moral views and de- 
ductions, though sometimes she is not very 
consistent. She wrote Rosamond, Castle 
Rackrent, Belinda, Ennui, -Absentee, Pa- 
tronage, Helen, Harrington, Ormond,. 
Early Lessons, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. In your patience ye are strong. — 
Helen. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



•11 



2. Weigh well your thoughts before you 
express them. — Id. 

;;. Pity tor one class of beings, some- 
times makes us cruel to others.- — An Irish 

Landlord* 

1. Do not be compassionate like the 
Brahmins, who hire beggars to let fleas 
feed upon them. — Fashionable Tales. 

5. In the presence of those whom you 
most wish to please, you are generally 
most awkward. — Shyness. 

C). There is a nightmare of the soul who 
seats himself upon the human heart and 
oppresses it. — hi. 

7. A man who sells his conscience for 
his interest will sell it for his pleasure. 
A man who will betray his country will 
betray his friend Helen. 

MRS. AMELIA OPIE, 

" The animated novelist," was born in 
Norwich, England, November 12, 1769, 
died December 20, 1853. She did not 
publish many of her writings, but the few 
that have been given to the public are 
eagerly read. Her manner is very at- 
tractive, combining spiritual and imagin- 
ative beauty, dignity and simplicity, and 
is marked by that tenderness of feeling, 
purity of sentiment, elevation of thought, 
and healthiness of tone, which tends to 
draw out the sympathies of the reader. 
Among her poetry and fiction are Father 
and Daughter, Adeline Mowbray, Simple 
Tales, The Warrior's Return, Detraction 
Displayed, Lays for the Dead, Illustra- 
tions of Lying, Tales of Real Life, and 
"Poems." 

GEMS. 

1. There's not a leaf within the bower, 

There's not a bird upon the tree, 
There's not a dew-drop on the flower, 
But bears the impress, Lord, of thee. 

Poems. 

2. Give me my home to quiet dear, 

Where hours untold and peaceful move; 
So fate ordain I sometimes there 

May hear the voice of him I love. Id. 

3. Now his swift wings the sea-bird lowers, 

For well he reads the angry skies, 
And ere the storm its fury pours, 

For shelter to the rock he flies. Id. 

4. The sun, the light, the world, shall fade, 

The Mars -hall paSS away ; 
But I, a child, immortal made, 

Shall witness their decay. Id. 



5. There'i naughl on earth to sweet | 
Nor half Bucfa pleasure can Imj 

andor and sincerity, 
Tin- offspring of an honest heart id. 

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, 

"Th<- mosl highly-gifted of the world's 
Imaginative poets," was horn in Cumber- 
land, England, April 7, 177(1, died April 
28, 1850. After finishing his studies at 
St. John's ( iollege, ( !ambridge, he traveled 
in France and Germany for a time. His 
friends were desirous to have him enter 
the church, but the unsettled state of his 
mind rendered him averse to such a step; 
to the profession of law he was equally op- 
posed ; poetry was the sole business of his 
life. He gained wide-spread popularity 
as an imaginative genius and his senti- 
ment was generally elevated and expressed 
with mingled tenderness and dignity. In 
1843, he succeeded Southey as poet 
laureate. All literary minds will be 
drawn to his Excursion, Hart Leap Well, 
The Solitary Reaper, Ode on Immortality, 
Ruth, We are Seven, Peter Bell, The 
Wagoner, and the Prelude. 

GEMS. 

1. Blessings be with them and eternal praise 
Who gave us nobler lives and nobler cares. 

The Poet. 

2. The meanest flower that blooms can give 
Thoughts that often lie too deep for tears. 

Ode to Immortality. 

3. Long have I loved what t behold 

The night that calms the day that cheers. 
" Peter Bell. 

4. Alas! the idle talk of man is found 
Depicted on the dial's moral round. 

On Reflection. 

5. On ! 'tis the heart that magnifies this life, 
Making a truth and beauty of her own. 

Ode to Ii/coris. 

6. Pleasures newly found are sweet 
When they lie about our feet. 

• To the Celandine. 

7. That best portion of a man's life, 

His Little, nameless, unremembered acta 

Of kindness and of love. 

Tint em Abb<>j. 

8. Vain is the glory of the sky, 

The beauty vain of field and grove 
Unless, while with admiring eye 
We ga/.e, we also learn to love. 

To a Lady. 



42 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE 



9. The inmost heart of man it glad 
Partakes a lirier cheer ; 

Ami eyes; that cannot but be sad 

Lot fall a brightened tear. 

To Mail. 

10. Blest are the moments, doubly blest. 

That drawn from this one hour of rest, 
Are with a ready heart bestowed 
Upon the service of our God. 

The Laborer's Noon. 

11. ! that our lives, which flee so last, 
In purity were such, 

That not an image of the past 
Should fear that pencil's touch. 

Memory. 

12. One impulse from the vernal wood, 
May teach you more of man, 

Of moral evil, and of good, 
Than all the sages can. 

The Tables Turned. 

13. What is friendship ? do not trust her, 
Nor the vows which she has made; 
Diamonds dart their brightest lustre 
From a palsy-shaken head. 

Inscriptions. 

14. Serene will be our days and bright, 

And happy will our nature be, 
When love is an unerring light, 
And joy its own security 

Ode to Duty. 

15. Thus heavenly hope is all serene, 
But earthly hope, how bright soe'er 
Still fluctuates o'er this changing scene, 
As false and fleeting as 'tis fair. 

Ode to Immortality. 

16. The wisest, happiest, of our kind are they 
That ever walk content with Natures way, 
God's goodness measuring bounty as it may. 
Evening Voluntaries. 

IT. But time hath power to soften all regrets, 
And prayer and thought can bring, to worst 

distress, 
Due resignation. The Excursion. 

18. Be mine to follow with no timid step 

Where knowledge leads me : it shall be my 

pride 
That I have dared to tread this holy ground. 
The Prelude. 

19. Small service is true service while it lasts ; 
Of friends, however humble spurn not one ; 
The daisy by the shadow that it casts, 
Protects the lingering dew-drop from the 

sun. To a Child. 

20. If this great world of joy and pain 
Revolve in one sure track ; 

If Freedom, set. will rise again, 

And Virtue, flown, come back; 

Woe to the purblind crew who fill 

The heart with each day's care — 

Nor gain from past or future, skill 

To bear and forbear. The Warning. 



21. The smoothest seas will sometimes prove 
To the confiding bark, untrue; 
And. if she trust the stars above, 
They can be treacherous too. 
But thou art true, incarnate Lord, 
Who didst vouchsafe for man to die ; 
Thy smile is sure, thy plighted word, 
No change can falsify. Inscriptions. 

SIR WALTER SCOTT, 

"The most famous of historical novelists," 
was born in Edinburgh, September 6, 
1771, died September 21, 1832. After 
passing through the curriculum of the 
university in his native city he was ad- 
mitted to the Scottish bar and immedi- 
ately commenced his literary career. This 
admired writer of fiction illustrated so 
vividly the characteristics of life and 
character that his novels are prized not 
only for their indescribable charm, but 
also for the valuable information that may 
may be gleaned from them. His Waverley 
Novels, twenty-nine in number, have 
fascinated and entertained the literary 
world for nearly three-fourths of a cen- 
tury. We direct attention to his Ivanhoe, 
Kenilworth, Old Mortality, Heart of Mid- 
Lothian, Legend of Montrose, Rob Roy, 
The Black Dwarf, Lay of the Last Min- 
strel, Marmion, Lady of the Lake, and 
Halidon Hill. 

GEMS. 

1. Oh, what a tangled web we weave 
When first we practice to deceive ! 

Marmion. 

2. And 0! when passion rules, how rare 
The hours that fall to virtue's share. 

Rokeby. 

3. Ambition breaks the ties of blood 
and forgets the obligation of gratitude — 

Waverley. 

4. Tears are the softening showers 
which cause the seed of heaven to spring 
up in the human heart Id. 

5. Land of my sires, what mortal hand, 
Can e'er untie the filial band 

That knits me to the ragged strand ! 

Lay of the Last Minstrel. 

6. The hand of the reaper 

Takes the ears that are hoary, 
But the voice of the weeper 
Wails manhood in glory. 

Lady of the Lake. 

7. Like the dew on the mountain, 

Like the foam on the river. 
Like the bubble on the fountain, 

We all go. and forever. Id. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






When u man lias not a good reatOD 

for doing a thing, he lias one good reason 

for letting it alone. — W'arvrlei/. 

i>. Perish wealth, :o><l power, and pride! 
Mortal boons by mortals given ; 
Hut let constancy abide. 

Constancy's the gift of heaven. Rokeby. 

10. We often praise the evening clouds, 

And tints so gay and bold, 
But seldom think upon our Cod, 

Who tinged these clouds with gold. 

On the Sit tiny Sun. 

11. When true friends meet in adverse hour, 

Tis like a sunbeam through a shower; 
A watery raj an instant seen, 
The darkly closing clouds between. 

Lyrical Poems. 

12. It is the secret sympathy, 
The silver link, the silken tie. 

Which heart to heart, and mind to mind, 
In body and in soul can bind. 

The Lay of the Last Minstrel. 

13. He that would her heights ascend, 
Many a weary step must wend. 
Hand and foot and knee he tries; 
Thus Ambition's minions rise. 

The Bridal of Thiermain. 

14. Twist ye. twine ye ! even so, 
Mingle shades of joy and woe, 
Hope, aud fear, and peace, and strife, 
In the thread of human life. 

Miscellanies. 

15. The tear down childhood's cheek that flows 
Is like the dew-drop on the rose; 

When next the summer breeze comes by, 
And waves the bush, the flower is dry. 

Rokeby. 

16. High minds, of native pride and force, 
Most deeply feel thy pangs, Remorse! 

Fear for their scourge mean villains have; 
Thou art the torturer of the brave. 

Marmion. 

17. He that does good, having the un- 
limited power to do evil, deserves praise 
not only for the good which he performs, 
but for the evil which he forbears — Ivan- 
hoe. 

18. The rose is fairest when 'tis budding new, 
And hope is brightest when it dawns from 
fears ; 
The rose is sweetest washed with morning 
dew, 
And love is loveliest when embalmed in 
tears. The Lady of the. Lake. 

19. There is no friend can help us so 
well as our candid truth and honor. 
Bring but these to our assistance, and you 
arc sate amidst a whole army of the en- 
vious and malignant. Leave these behind 



Mm, ami all other defence will be fruit- 
-Kemkoorth. 

21. Breathes there a man with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said : 
This is my own. my native land'.' 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned 
As home his footsteps lie hath turned 
From wandering on a foreign -tr.tud? 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well, 

For him no minstrel rapturei swell ; 
High though his titles, proud his mime. 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; 
Despite those titles, power and pelf, 
The wretch, concentred all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown. 
And doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung. 
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. 

Lay of the Last Minstrel. 

SIDNEY SMITH, 

"The professed English joker and conviv- 
ial wit," was born in Woodford, England, 
November 2, 1771, died February 22, 
1845. After receiving his diploma at Ox- 
ford, he went to Scotland, and with other 
distinguished men founded the Edinburgh 
Review, for which he wrote many years, 
even after having removed to London. 
He gained great fame by the sound wit 
and wholesome ridicule portrayed in these 
contributions. The following works from 
his pen give evidence of high mental 
powers and well-developed reasoning facul- 
ties, accompanied by wit and satire such 
as Swift possessed: Labor and Genius, 
Wit and Wisdom, Means of Acquiring 
Distinction, A Model Bishop, Uses of 
Passion. 

GEMS. 

1. Measure yourself with your equals. 
— Advice. 

2. Too many persons squint with the 
tongue. — Ibid. 

3. Love knowledge with a great and 
vehement love. — Pleasures of Knowledge. 

4. Genuine and innocent wit is the 
flavor of the mind. — Wit and Wisdom. 

5. It is noble to seek truth, and it is 
beautiful to find it Pleasures of Knowl- 
edge. 

6. A life of knowledge is not often a 
life of injury and crime. — Ibid. 

7. Serenely full, the epicure would say, 

Fate cannot harm me, I have dined to-day. 

Fmstiny. 



44 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



B, A man who dedicates his life to 
knowledge, becomes habituated to pleas- 
ore which carries with it no reproach 

Pleasures of Knowledge, 

\K If a young man lias embarked his 
life in the pursuit of knowledge, let him 
go on without doubting or fearing the 
event — Ibid. 

10. The passions are in morals what mo- 
tion is in physics : they create, preserve, and 
animate; and without them, all would be 
silence and death. — Uses of the Passions. 

11. It is no more possible for an idle 
man to keep together a certain stock of 
knowledge, than it is possible to keep to- 
gether a stock of ice exposed to the meri- 
dian sun On Labor. 

JAMES MONTGOMERY, 

" The Island's illustrious religious poet," 
was born in Irvine, England, November 
4, 1771, died April 30, 1854. He was 
educated at the Moravian school near 
Leeds, but declined to become a priest, and 
after many state and social difficulties, de- 
voted his attention to contributions for 
newspapers and to publishing his poetry. 
Montgomery is classed among the religious 
poets of deservedly high reputation ; a 
tone of generous and enlightened morality 
pervades all his writings, and yet many of 
them glow with picturesque beauty and 
simplicity of taste. He wrote the Wan- 
derer of Switzerland, The West Indies, 
Prison Amusements, The World Before 
the Flood, Thoughts on Wheels, Iris, The 
Pelican Island, Original Hymns. 

GEMS. 

1. Prayer is the soul's sincere desire. 

Uttered or unexpressed ; 
The motion of a hidden fire 

That trembles in the breast. Prayer. 

2. If God has made the world so fair, 

Where sin and death abound, 
How beautiful beyond compare 
Will paradise be fonnd. 

Hymn, God 1 s Goodness. 

3. Higher, higher will we climb, 

Up the mount of glory, 
That our names may live through time, 
In our country's story. 

Aspirations of Youth. 

4. Onward, onward will we press, 

Through the paths of duty, / 

Virtue is true happiness, 

Excellence true beauty. Ibid. 



5. Friend after friend departs; 

Who hath not lost a friend? 

There is no union here of hearts 

That hath not here its end. 

Thought* on Wheels [Friend). 

6. Words are the vehicle by which 
thought is made visible to the eye and in- 
telligible to the mind of another ; they are 
the palpable forms of ideas The Perma- 
nence of Words. 

7. Night is the time for rest ; 
How sweet, when labors close, 
To gather round an aching breast 
The curtain of repose, 

Stretch the tired limbs, and lay the head 
Upon our own delightful bed. Night. 

8. Deeper, deeper, let us toil, 

In the mines of knowledge, 
Natures wealth, and learning's spoil, 

Win from school or college; 
Delve we there for richer gems 
Than the stars of diadems. 

Aspirations of Youth. 

9. There is a spot of earth supremely blest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest, 
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside 
His sword and sceptre, peagentry and pride. 
While in his softened looks benignly blend, 
The sire, the son, the husband, brother,friend, 
Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps 

roam, 
That land thy country, and that spot thy 
home ! Home. 

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, 

"The leading conversationalist of his 
time," was born in Devonshire, England, 
September 19, 1772, died June 6, 1834. 
Before he had completed his school course 
he enlisted as a soldier ; one day he wrote 
several stanzas in Latin on a stable, which 
secured him a discharge from service, for 
his officer said : " You are intended to win 
laurels in a better field." He excelled in 
every department of literature, and had 
he not become a slave to opium-eating, his 
writings might have rivaled even those of 
Shakespeare. Coleridge, Southey, and 
Wordsworth are often styled the Lake 
Poets. He wrote Aids to Reflection, Im- 
portance of Method, Rime of the Ancient 
Mariner, Lectures on Shakspeare, Trans- 
lation of Schiller's Wallenstein, Lay Ser- 
mons, Remorse, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Whispering tongues can poison truth. 
— Christabel. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



45 



'2. Conscience 18 the |>ulsc 6f reason. — 
Importance of Method. 

:>. Religion is the most gentlemanly 
thing in the world. — ChrirtabeL 

1. Experience is the beef school-master, 

but the school lees are heavy — On Method. 
5, To be wroth with one we love, doth 
work like madness in the brain. — Christa- 
bel 
• ;. Dli. Bleepl it is a gentle thing, 
Beloved from pole to pole ! 

— The Rime qf the Ancient Mariner. 

7. Dewdrope are the gems of morning, 

But the tears of mournful eve! 

On Method. 

8. Our own heart, and not other men's opin- 

ions, 
Forms our true honor. On Reflection. 

9. Tis the sublime of man — 

Our noontide majesty — to know ourselves, 
Part and proportion of a wondrous whole. 

Id, 

10. He prayeth best who loveth best 

All things, both great and small ; 
For the dear God who loveth us, 
He made and loveth all. 

The Rime of The Ancient Mariner. 

11. All thoughts, all passions, all delights, 

Whatever stirs this mortal frame, 
All are but ministers of love, 

And feed this sacred flame. On Love. 

12. Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade, 

Death came with friendly care ; 
The opening bud to Heaven conveyed, 
And bade it blossom there. 

Epitaph on a Child. 

13. Greatness and goodnes are not means, but 

ends ! 
Hath he not always treasures, always 

friends, 
The good great man ? Three treasures — 

love, and light, 
And calm thoughts regular as infant's 

breath ; 
And three firm friends, more sure than day 

and night — 
Himself, his Maker, and the angel Death. 

Reproof. 

ROBERT SOUTHEY, 

"The most voluminous of English au- 
thors," and fourteenth poet laureate, was 
born in Bristol, October 12, 1774, died 
March 21, 1843. He was educated at 
Oxford, and in early life commenced his 
literary career, giving poems of the high- 
est order to his country before he was 
twenty. It is said that he burnt more 
verses between his twentieth and thirtieth 



year than be published daring his whole 

life, and y«'t he ii the author of more 

works than e\cn Scott " II«- W8S One of 
the most indefatigable of Writers, and un- 
surpassed in flowing, Sprightly, and per- 
spicuous style." Among his works are 
The Curse of Kehania, Roderick, Lord 
William, Mary of the Inn. Complaints of 
the Poor, The Cataract of Lodore, Com- 
fort in Adversity, Lives of Nelson, Ban- 
yan, and Wesley. 

GEMS. 
1. 'Twas a light that made darkness it- 
self appear a thing of comfort. — Life of 
Bunyan. 

2. In heaven, Ambition cannot dwell 

But Love is indestructible. 

The Curse of Kehama. 

3. In the days of my youth I remembered my 

God! 
And he hath not forgotten my age. 

The Old Man's ('"//forts. 

4. Ambition is an idol, on whose wings 
Great minds are carried only to extreme ; 
To be sublimely great or to be nothing. 

On Ambition. 
5. Be wakeful, be vigilant — 
Danger may be 
At an hour when all seemeth 
Securest to thee. 

Life's Struggle. 

6. Man hath a weary pilgrimage, 

As through the world he wends, 
On every stage from youth to age 

Still discontent attends. Id. 

7. From his brimstone bed at break of day 

A-walking the devil is gone, 
To visit his snug little farm — the earth, — 
And see how his stock goes on. 

The Devils Thoughts. 

8. The most triumphant death is that 
of the martyr; the most splendid, that of 
the hero in the hour of victory. — Life of 
Nelson. 

9. And oh 1 how beautiful 
The things of earth appear 
To eyes, that far and near. 
For many a week have seen 
Only the circle of the restless sea ! 

Landing of the Pilgrims. 

10. My days among the dead are passed ; 

Around me I behold. 
Where'er these casual eyes are east. 

The mighty minds of old ; 
My never failing friends are they, 

With whom 1 converse night and day. 
Thoughts. 



40 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



CHARLES LAMB, 

••The bachelor author," was born in 
London, February 10, 177,*), died Decem- 
ber '27, 18,'U. He was a poet and delight- 
ful essayist of quaint peculiar humor and 
fancy; in his essays signed " Elia," his 
curious reading, nice observation, and 
poetical conceptions found a genial and 
befitting tield ; they are all carefully elab- 
orated, yvt never were books written in a 
higher defiance to the conventional pomp 
of style. Seeking his materials for the 
most part in the common paths of life, he 
gives an importance to everything, and 
sheds a grace over all. His books are 
Elia's Essays, John Woodvil, Old Famil- 
iar Faces, Farewell to Tobacco, The Super- 
annuated Man, Mr. H., Rosamand Gray, 
Garrick, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Labor earnestly in Learning's Cave. 
— Elia's Essays. 

2. I love to lose myself in other men's 
minds Id. 

3. The measure of choosing well is 
whether a man likes what he has chosen. 
—Id. 

4. The greatest pleasure I know is to 
do a good action by stealth, and to have it 
found out by accident — Id. 

5. How pleasant it is to hear a woman 
talk in that low key which always charac- 
terizes the true lady — Id. 

6. The same attentions should be paid 
to age as to youth, to homely features as 
to handsome, to coarse complexions as to 
clear Id. 

7. The frugal snail, with forecast of repose, 
Carries his house with him where'er he goes ; 
Peeps out, and if there comes a shower of 

rain, 
Retreats to his small domicile again. 

The Housekeeper. 

8. The head of a man is like a pud- 
ding ; and whence have all our rhymes, 
poems, plots, and inventions sprung, but 
from that same pudding? — Essays. 

THOMAS CAMPBELL, 

"The mellifluous and patriotic poet," was 
born in Glasgow', January 28, 1777, died 
July 15, 1844. His first poem of merit 
w r as published when he was twenty- 
two ; it was so favorably received, that 
in a short time, it was followed by 



several of the most celebrated lyrics 
that have ever been produced. His 
works are especially noted for the beau- 
ties of expression and the glowing, pow- 
erful execution; the general tone is 
calm and uniform — a stream of mild 
harmony and delicious fancy flowing 
through the busy scenes of life, with im- 
ages scattered separately like flowers on 
its surface, and beauties of expression in- 
terwoven with it. His works are The 
Pleasures of Hope, Gertrude of Wyom- 
ing, The Battle of the Baltic, Mariners of 
England, Hohenlinden, The Last Man, 
Lochiel's Warning, Exile of Erin, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. 'Tis distance lends enchantment to 
the view Pleasures of Hope. 

2. To live in hearts we leave behind is 
not to die. — Hallowed Ground. 

3. How happy are they 
Who the Saviour obey, 

And have laid up their treasures above ! 

Hymn. 

4. But, mortal pleasure, what art thou in truth ? 
The torrents smoothness ere it dash below. 

Gertrude. 

5. Auspicious Hope ! in thy sweet garden grow 
Wreaths for each toil, a charm for every 

woe. The Pleasures of Hope. 

6. 'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical 

lore, 
And coming events cast their shadows be- 
fore. Lochiel's Warning. 

7. Oh! my sad heart! long abandoned by 

pleasure, 
Why did it dote on a fast fading treasure ? 
Tears, like the rain-drops, may fall without 

measure, 
But rapture and beauty they cannot recall. 
* The 'Exile of Erin. 

8. The more we live, more brief appear 

Our life's succeeding stages ; 
A day to childhood seems a year, 

And years like passing ages. 
The gladsome current of our youth, 

Ere passion yet disorders, 
Steals lingering like a river smooth 

Along its grassy borders. 
When joys have lost their bloom and breath, 

And life itself is vapid, 
Why, as we reach the falls of death 

Feel we its tide more rapid? 
It may be strange — yet who would change 

Time's course to slower speeding, 
When one by one our friends have gone, 

And left our bosoms bleeding. 
A Thought Suggested by the New Year. 



ENGLISH LITERATI' KK. 



47 



CHARLES CALEB COLTON, 

" The unfortunate English Poe," was born 
near London, February 22, 1779, died 
April 2s, 1852. He was graduated at 
Cambridge in 1801 , was afterwards chosen 
Fellow of Kimrs' College, and in 1818 ob- 
tained the vicarage of Kew of Petersham, 
but his private life destroyed all the hopes 
formed from his brilliant abilities. He 
became a gambler and debauchee, and was 
at last so sunk in character, and so beset 
by his creditors, that he was obliged to 
abandon Ins profession and fly to America, 
whence he betook himself to Paris, where 
he acted for a time as correspondent of the 
London Morning Cfironicle. Dr. Col ton 
wrote the Burning of Moscow, The Soul, 
Lacon, Voyagers, etc. 

GEMS— [From his Maxims.] 

I. Imitation is the sincerest of flattery. 
'2. Time — that bleak narrow isthmus 

between two eternities. 

3. Power will intoxicate the best hearts, 
as wine the best heads. 

4. Applause is the spur on noble minds 
— the end and aim of weak ones. 

5. The upright, if he suffer calumny to 
move him, fears the tongue of man more 
than the eye of God. 

G. The intoxication of anger, like that 
of the grape, shows us to others, but hides 
us from ourselves. 

7. The excesses of our youth are drafts 
upon our old age, payable with interest 
about thirty years after date. 

8. Men are born with two"eyes,but with 
one tongue, in order they that should see 
twice as much as they speak. 

9. Our mindsare as different as our faces; 
we are all traveling to one destination, Hap- 
piness, but few are going by the same road. 

10. The pride of ancestry is a super- 
structure of the most imposing height, 
but resting on the most flimsy foundation. 

II. Mystery magnifies danger as a fog 
the sun ; the hand that warned Belshazzar 
derived its horrifying influence from the 
want of a body. 

12. Pure truth, like pure gold, has been 
found unfit for circulation, because men 
have discovered that it is far more conven- 
ient to adulterate the truth than to refine 
themselves. 



THOMAS MOORE, 

"The author of [rish melodies," wrafl 

born in Dublin, May 28, 1 7 7 '. » . died Feb- 

ruarv 26, L852. He began early to rhyme, 

and at fourteen contributed BOme of his 
best poems to a Dublin magazine. Hi- 
great success was in his Melodic, which 
are still read and sung among all English 
speaking people. Next to Burns this poet 
must ever claim the highest place among 
our song writers, in pathos, tenderness, 

play of wit, brilliancy of fancy and rich 
adornment. " If the breath of popular ap- 
plause could confer happiness, then Moore 
reached the height of earthly felicity." Hi- 
most elaborate poem was an oriental ro- 
mance entitled Lalla Rookh, admired for 
its imagery and splendor. Among hi> 
other productions are the Last Rose of 
Summer, Reuben and Rose, The Life of 
Byron, The Ring, Irish Melodies, Na- 
tional Airs, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Ala?, how light a cause may move 
Dissension between hearts that love ! 

Vathek. 

2. Humility is that low sweet root 

From which all heavenly virtues shoot. 

Melodies. 

3. Like the stained web that whitens in the 

sun, 
Grow pure by being purely shone upon. 

Vathek. 

4. There's naught so much disturbs one's pa- 

tience 
As little minds in lofty stations. 

Melodies. 

5. When true hearts lie withered, 

And fond ones are flown, 
Oh ! who would inhabit 

This bleak world alone. Melodies. 

6. Oh, Thou ! who dry'st the mourner's tear, 

How dark this world would be, 
If, when deceived and wounded here, 
We could not fly to Thee. 

Sacred Songs. 

7. There's nothing bright above, below, 

From flowers that bloom to stars that glow. 

But in its light my soul can see 

Some feature of thy Deity. Melodies. 

8. This world is all a fleeting show, 
For man s illusion given , 

The smiles of joy. the tears of woe, 
Deceitful shine, deceitful How — 
There's nothing true but heaven. 

Sacred So-nas. 



18 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



:>. As by the shore at break o\' day 
A vanquished chief expiring lay 

Upon the sands with broken sword, 

Ho traced his farewell to the free ; 
And there the last unfinished word 

He dying, wrote, was " Liberty!" 

10. 1 saw from the beach, when the morning 

was shining, 
A bark o'er the waters move gloriously on : 
1 came when the sun o*er that beach was de- 
clining. 
The bark was still there, but the waters 
were gone. Melodies. 

11. Let Fate do her worst, there are relics of 

joy. 

Bright dreams of the past, which she can- 
not destroy, 

They come in the night-time of sorrow end 
care. 

And bring back the features that joy used 
to wear. 

Long, long be my heart with such memo- 
ries filled, 

Like the vase in which roses have once been 
distilled, 

You my break, you may shatter the vase if 
you will, 

But the scent of the roses will hang round 
it still. Id. 

JAMES H. LEIGH HUNT, 

"Who made his prison -cell a poet's cor- 
ner," was born in Southgate, England, 
October 19, 1784, died August 28, 1859. 
He became an author and a journalist 
while yet a boy, and at the age of twenty- 
four established the Examiner, a liberal 
journal, which he edited for many years 
and rendered it exceedingly popular; it 
was noted for the fearlessness of its criti- 
cism and the freedom of its political dis- 
cussions. His poems, essays, novels and 
translations have reached a remarkably 
high and widespread reputation. Among 
them are The Seer, The Palfrey, The 
Foster Brother, The Old Court Suburb, 
The Descent of Liberty, Captain Sword 
and Captain Pen, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. All natural objects have an echo in 
the heart Essay. 

2. He who maintains his country's laws 
alone is great Id. 

3.. Con this lesson all day long . 

Practice right and shun the wrong. 

School Poems. 
4. Who shall say that flowers 

Dress not heaven's own bowers? 

Breakfast in Summer. 



5. The sun is ever beautiful and noble, 
and brings a cheerfulness out of heaven 
itself into the humblest apartment, if we 
have but the spirit to welcome it Break- 
fast in Summer. 
6. 0, for a seat in some poetic nook, 

Just hid with trees and sparkling with a 

brook, 
With spots of sunny openings, and with 

nooks 
To lie and read in, sloping into brooks. * 
From Contributions to London Journal. 

7. If there is one virtue that should be 
cultivated more than another by him who 
would succeed in life, it is punctuality; if 
there is one error that should be avoided, 
it is being behind time Behind Time. 

8. Blest is the turf, serenely blest, 

Where throbbing hearts may sink to rest,' 

Where life's long journey turns to sleep, 

Nor ever pilgrim wakes to weep. 

A little sod, a few sad flowers, 

A tear for long-departed hours, 

Is all that feeling hearts request 

To hush their weary thoughts to rest. 

Dirge. 

9. That power which, like a potent spirit, guides 
The sea-wide wanderers over distant tides, 
Inspiring confidence where'er they roam, 
By indicating still the pathway home, 
Directs the cavern'd crystal in its birth, 
And frames the mightiest mountains of the 

earth ; 

Each leaf and flower by its strong law re- 
strains, 

And binds the monarch Man within its 
mystic chains. On Electricity. 

GEORGE GORDON BYRON, 

" The philosophical lord," was born in 
London, January 26, 1788, died April 16, 
1824. He gave evidence of remarkable 
intellectual power while only a boy, and 
ere he was twenty, he published a volume 
of his poems. Misfortunes in his family 
and among his friends cast a shadow over 
his life, and eight years before his death 
he left England never to return. Lord 
Byron traveled south until he reached 
Greece, where he was seized with epilepsy 
and died. Among his numerous gifts to 
literature are Childe Harold^ Siege of Cor- 
inth, The Vision of Judgment, Don Juan, 
Cain, The Giaour, Prisoner of Chillon, etc. 

GEMS. 
1. All who joy would win must share it, 
Happiness was born a twin. 

Miscellaneous Poems. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



49 



The mind that broods o'er guilty woes, 
is Like the scorpion girt bj fire. 

The Giaour. 

The drying np a fingle tear has more 
Of honest fame than Bhedding seas of gore. 

Don .hunt. 

There is no darkness like the cloud of mind, 

On Griefs vain eve — the blindest of the blind. 

The Corsair. 
know there is an eye will 



10, 



and look brighter when we 
'/ teellaneoue. 



12 



13 



1 1 



15 



'Tis sweet to 

mark 
Our coming, 

come. 

The deepest ice that Brer froze 
Can only o'er the surface close ; 
The living stream lies quick below 

And flows and cannot cease to How. 

Appearance. 
Sere's a Bigh to those who love me, 

And a smile to those who hate, 
And whatever sky's above me, 
Here's a heart for any fate. 

To Tom Moore. 
What exile from himself can flee? 

To zones though more and more remote 
Still, still pursues where'er I be, 

The blight of life — the demon thought. 
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. 
For pleasures past I do not grieve, 

Nor perils gathering near; 

My greatest grief is that I leave 

Nothing that claims a tear. 

Childe Harold. 
And all that Memory loves the most 

Was once our only hope to be, 
And all that Hope adored and lost, 
Hath melted into Memory. 

Miscellaneous. 
Without a sign would I resign 

This busy scene of splendid wo, 
To make that calm contentment mine, 
Which virtue knows or seems to know. 
Hoars of Idleness. 
Love ! Glory! what are ye who fly 

Around us ever, rarely to alight? 
There's not a meteor in the polar sky 

Of such transcendent and more fleeting 
flight. Don Juan. 

But he who through life's dreary way 

Must pass, when heaven is veiled in wrath, 
Will long lament the vanished ray 
That scattered gladness o'e r his path. 
Poem to Tln/rza. 
. The poorest, veriest wretch on earth 
Still finds some hospitable hearth. 
Where Friendship's of Love's softer glow 
May smile in joy or soothe in woe. 

Miscellaneous. 
But words are things, and a small drop of 

ink, 
Falling like dew upon a thought, produces 
That which makes thousands, perhaps 
millions, think. Don Juan. 



i»;. lb- who ascends to mountain tops shall 
And 
Their loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds 

and -now ; 
He who surpasses or subdues mankind, 
IfUBt look down on tin- hate ot those below. 
Childe Harold s 1 ' 't/an/naye. 

PERCY B. SHELLEY, 

"The peraonator of inanimate objects," 

was bom in Sussex, England, October 1, 
171)2, died July 8, L822. Having re- 
ceived a pretty thorough education at Ox- 
ford (from which lie was expelled at the 
a ge of seventeen for his views on atheism) 
he immediately set about to increase his al- 
ready cultivated tastes for literature, and 
soon published numerous works of high 
degree. One misfortune after another 
met his lot, until in his 20th year he was 
drowned. His principal writings are 
Queen Mab, Revolt of Islam, Franken- 
stein, Spirit of Solitude, The Cloud, the 
Skylark, The Witch of Atlas, Sensitive 
Plants, Ahasuerus, Prometheus, Adonais. 

GEMS. 

1. Depend on yourself, and don't forget, 
He who does not will often fret. 

Stanzas. 

2. Music when soft voices die, 

Vibrates in the memory. Stanzas. 

3. How wonderful is death, 
Death and his brother sleep. 

On Solitude. 

4. Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, 
Stains the white radiance of eternity. 

Adonais. 

5. Poetry is the record of the best and 
happiest moments of the happiest and best 
minds. — Essay. 
G. And from this hour will I, with earnest 
thought, 
Heap knowledge from forbidden mines of 
lore. Revolt of Islam. 

7. Through the sunset of hope, 
Like the shapes of a dream. 

What paradise islands of glory gleam ! 

Adonais. 

8. I pant for the music which is divine. 

My soul in its thirst is a dying Bower. 
Pour forth the sounds like enchanted wine ; 
Loosen the notes in a silver shower! 
Heavenly Mutie. 

9. What art thou. Freedom? 
Thou art justice — ne'er for gold 
May thy righteous laws be sold ; 
Thou art Peace — never by thee 
Would blood and treasure wasted be. 



50 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



Thou art Love — t ho rich have kissed 
Thv feet, ami like him following Christ 
Given their substance to be tree 
And through the world have followed thee. 

Freedom. 

MRS. FELICIA HEMANS 
(Dorothea P. Browne), 

"The favorite poet of the Literati," was 
born in Liverpool, September 2o, 1793, 
died May 1*2, 1835. She -wrote verses 
from her childhood, and in her fourteenth 
year published a poetical volume which 
displayed a remarkable love of Nature. 
Many other volumes followed, all of them 
being admirable for purity of sentiment 
and general pathos. She succeeded w r ell 
in narrative and dramatic poetry, though 
the character of her genius was decidedly 
reflective and lyrical. Among her w r orks 
are The Skeptic, The Forest Sanctuary, 
Records of Woman, Bernardo del Carpio, 
Early Blossoms, The Domestic Affections, 
Modern Greece, Dartmoor, The Vespers 
of Palermo. 

GEMS. 

1. Oh. happiness ! how far we flee 

Thine own sweet paths, in search of thee! 
Early Blossoms. 

2. By being able to command your 
thoughts, you may hope to command your 
actions Letter. 

3. The gloomiest day has gleams of light, 

The darkest wave has bright foam near it ; 
And twinkles through the cloudiest night 
Some solitary star to cheer it. 

Lights and Shades. 

4. Aye, call it holy ground, 
The soil where first they trod, 

And have left unstained what there they 

found — 
Freedom to worship God. 

The Landing of the Pilgrims. 

5. Thou thinkest it sweet when friend with 

friend 
Beneath one roof in prayer may blend ; 
Then doth the stranger's eye grow dim ; 
Far, far are those who prayed with him. 
The Stranger's Heart. 

6. Leaves have their time to fall, 

And flowers to wither at the north wind's 

breath, 
And stars to set — but all, 

Thou hast all seasons for thine own, oh, 

Death ! The Hour of Death. 



1. There Is a strength 

Deep-bedded in our hearts, of which we 

reck 
But little, till the shafts of heaven have 

pierced * 

Its fragile dwelling. Must not earth be 

rent 
Before her gems are found ? 

The Hidden Strength. 

THOMAS CARLYLE, 

" A Scottish historian, biographer, trans-' 
lator, moralist, and satirist," was born in 
Annandale, Scotland, December 4, 1795, 
died February 5, 1881. He was educated 
in the university at Edinburgh, and be- 
came an admired contributor to the lead- 
ing magazines. Among his first efforts in 
the literary field was the translation of 
Goethe's Wilhelm Meister. He displayed 
great power of intellect, lofty conception, 
and depth of feeling all through his writ- 
ings. A finished scholar has said that no 
man has exercised a mightier influence on 
the thought of the nineteenth century than 
Carlyle. Read and reflect on his History 
of the French Revolution, Lives of Schil- 
ler, and Frederick the Great, Cromwell, 
Hero Worship, Sartor Resartus, Shooting 
Niagara, Chartism, and Translation of 
Wilhelm Meister. 

GEMS. 

1. Blessed is he who has found his w T ork. 
— Life of Frederick. 

2. Earnestness alone makes life eternity. 
—Id. 

3. Evil once manfully resisted ceases to 
be evil Hero Worship. 

4. Literature is the thought of thinking 
souls. — On Literature. 

5. The true universty these days is a 
collection of books. — Id. 

6. A man without a purpose is like a 
ship without a rudder On Life. 

7. What is the use of wealth or life if 

not to do some work therewith The 

French Revolution. 

8. From the lowest depth there is a path 
to the loftiest height. — On Life. 

9. Experience does take dreadfully 
high school wages, but he teaches like no 
other The French Revolution. 

10. Through all time, if we read aright, 
sin was, is, will be, the parent of misery. 
—Id. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



51 



11. The WOrd thai IB spoken Hies inv\- 

ocable; not lees, l>nt more, the action that 
is done.-— J& 

12, No man who lias once heartily and 

wholly laughed can be altogether irre- 

elaimablj depraved. — Id. 

\'A. Night's candles are burning out ; 
with them Time is finishing, and it will 
soon be Eternity and Day. — Id. 

14. What are yon doing in God's fair 
earth and task garden, where whosoever 
is not working is begging or stealing ? — Id. 

15. How indestructibly the good grows 
and propagates itself, even among the 
weedy entanglements of evil. — Id. 

16. Cast forth thy act, thy word, unto 
the ever-living, ever-working universe; it 
is the seed grain that cannot die. — Life of 
Schiller. 

17. Adversity is sometimes hard upon a 
man ; but for one man who can stand 
prosperity there are a hundred that will 
stan d a d versi ty . — Adversity. 

18. Men, though never so thickly clad 
in dignities, sit not inaccessible to the in- 
fluence of their time, especially men whose 
life is business. — The French Revolution. 

19. Man carries under his hat a private 
theatre, wherein a greater drama is en- 
acted than is performed on the mimic stage, 
beginning and ending in eternity. — On 
Life. 

20. All men are busy, doing they only 
half know what, flinging seeds, of tares 
mostly, into the " Seed-field of Time ;" 
this, by and by, will declare wholly what. 
— TIte French Revolution. 

21. Truth of any kind breeds ever new 
and better truth ; thus hard granite rock 
will crumble down into soil, under the 
blessed skyey influences, and cover itself 
with verdure, with fruitage, and umbrage. 

THOMAS HOOD, 

"The poet whose various pen touched 
alike the springs of laughter and the 
sources of tears," was born in London, 
May 23, 1798, died May 3, 1845. He 
began quite young to compose for the 
press, for before his fifteenth year he had 
earned money lor a revision of " Paul and 
Virginia." He soon became editor of the 
London Magazine, a position which at 



once introduced him into the best liter- 
ary society of the time In his work- the 

humorous faculty predominates, ami ex- 
presses itself with a firmness, originality 
and power which delights the reader. 

Among his writings are Whims and Od- 
dities, National Tales, Dream of Eugene 
Aram, lp the Rhine, Bridge of Sigh-, 

Song of the Shirt, Lay of the Laborer, 
and Parental Ode. 

GEMS. 

1. A moment's thinking is an hour in 
words Hero and Leander. 

2. Evil is wrought by want of thought 

As well as want of heart. Whims. 

3. Oh, it Avas pitiful ! 
Near a whole city-full ! 
Home she had none! 

The Bridge of Sighs. 

4. When he is forsaken, 
Withered and shaken, 

What can an old man do but die? 

From a Ballad. 

5. The improvement of the minds and 
souls of the people will save the country. 
— Saying. 

6. The shocks of time will cramp the nimblest 
toes ; 
And those that frisked in silken clocks, 
May look to limp in fleecy hose. 

Oddities. 

*?. A dentist and a wheel of fortune are a 
kindred cast, 
For after all is drawn you feel 
It's paying for a blank at last. 

A True Story. 

8. What is a modern poet's fate ? 

To write his thoughts upon a slate, 
The critic spits on what is done, 
Gives it a wipe, ami all is gone. 

Whims and Oddities. 

9. There is no music in the life 

That sounds with happy laughter solely; 
There's not a string attuned to mirth, 
But has its cord of melancholy. 

Odr to Melancholy. 

10. I remember. 1 remember, 

The house where I was born, 

The little window where the sun 

Came peeping in at morn ; 
He never came a bit too soon, 

Nor brought too long a day ; 

But now I often wish the night 
Had borne my breath away. 

/ Remember. 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY, 
" England's most illustrious historian and 
biographer,' 1 was bom in Leicestershire, 
October 25, L800, died December 28, 

18">ih As a schoolboy he was noted as 
being an insatiable reader and the pro- 
ducer of rhymes; in his nineteenth year 
he gained two prizes at college for English 
verse, and thus fairly established his liter- 
ary reputation. A more profound thinker 
and accomplished author never lived; he 
was honored with the most responsible 
positions of the kingdom, receiving mer- 
ited recognition for his genius and ser- 
vices in literature and politics by being 
elevated to the peerage with the title of 
Baron. A careful critic has said that the 
writings of Lord Macaulay offer a more 
remunerative field to the student than do 
those of any other writer except Shake- 
speare. Everybody should study his Es- 
says, History of England, Lays of An- 
cient Rome, Warren Hastings, Pompeii, 
Ivry, The Spanish Armada, Evening, 
and Biographies. 

GEMS. 

1. Many fine thoughts and fine expres- 
sions reward the toil of reading Essays. 

2. Literature is the great engine which 
moves the feelings of a people Id. 

3. Men are never so likely to settle a 
question rightly as when they discuss it 
freely. — Id. 

4. The smallest actual good is better 
than the most magnificent promises of im- 
possibilities Id. 

5. To every man upon this earth 
Death cometh soon or late; 
And how can man die better 
Than facing fearful odds, 
For the ashes of his fathers 
And the temples of his gods? 

Horatim at the Bridge. 
6. Whoever becomes pre-eminent in any 
art, generally does so by devoting himself 
with intense and exclusive enthusiasm to 

the pursuit of one kind of excellence Id. 

7. Then none was for a party ; 
Then all were for the state ; 
Then the great man helped the poor, 

And the poor man loved the great ; 
Then lands were fairly portioned, 

Then spoils were fairly sold, 
The Romans were like brothers 
In the brave days of old. 

Horatius at the Bridge. 



8. Minds differ as rivers differ. There 
are transparent and sparkling rivers from 
which it is delightful to drink as they 
flow; then there are rivers of which the 
water, when first drawn, is turbid and 
noisome, but becomes delicious to the 
taste if it be suffered to stand till it has 
deposited a sediment Id. 

DOUGLAS JERROLD, 

"The witty dramatist and pun writer" was 
born in London, January 3, 1803, died 
June 8, 1857. At the age of nine he was 
placed on a ship, and spent two years at 
sea ; he then became a printer, and soon 
reached the editorship of a leading news- 
paper. He had early commenced to write 
plays, tales, and sketches of character, in 
which humor, fancy, and satire were 
blended. He wrote numerous plays for 
his father's theatre, and often assisted in 
producing them on the stage. Jerrold's 
productions are spirited and effective, and 
many of them sparkle with mirth. Some 
of his works are Black-eyed Susan, The 
Prisoner of War, Men of Character, The 
Caudle Lectures, The Heart of Gold, The 
Bride of Ludgate, The Rent Day, The 
Wedding Gown, etc. 

GEMS, 

1. Love is like the measles — all the 
worse when it comes late in life — Witti- 
cisms. 

2. Cabbage heads are all right in their 
places, but it is -not well to have one on 
your shoulders — Id. 

3. After all, life has something serious 
in it; it cannot be all a comic history of 
humanity — Id. 

4. Earth is so kind in Australia that, 
tickle her with a hoe, and she laughs with 
a harvest — Id. 

5. There is a time when in want, in 
anguish, in throes of mortal agony, some 
seed is sown that bears a flower in heaven. 
Men of Character. 

6. Resting from the activities of life, 
we have yet our daily task — the inter- 
change of simple thoughts and gentle do- 
ings. — Id. 

7. Time has his bounteous changes, too ; 
and sometimes to the plainest bud will give 
an unimagined beauty in the flower — Id. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






8. Docs not almost every one remem- 
ber some kind-hearted person who showed 
him a kindness in the days of his child- 
hood?— Id. 

;». Duty, though sot about by thorns, 
may -till be made a >tatl'. supporting even 
while it tortures. Cast it away, and, like 

the prophet's wand, it changes to a snake. 
— hi. 

SIR EDWARD LYTTON-BULWER, 

"Literature's greatest precocity," was 

born in Norfolk, England, May 6, 1805, 
died June 18, 1878. He is known to 

have written verses before he was five 

years of age, and produced poems and 
novels before he had completed his studies 
at Trinity college, which was while he was 
yet a boy. He was a member of Parlia- 
ment for a number of years, and was then 
chosen Lord Rector of the university at 
Glasgow. Lord Lytton possessed a large 
and spacious intellect, a subtle and com- 
prehensive art of delineating the passion 
of love, and an indescribable charm of 
dramatic narrative. His best works are 
The Lady of Lyons, Richelieu, Last Days 
of Pompeii, The Parisians, Pelham, Last 
of the Barons, King Arthur, Pilgrims of 
the Rhine, The Student. 

GEMS. 

1. Reading without purpose is saunter- 
ing, not exercise The Student. 

2. One of the sublimest things in the 
world is plain truth Id. 

3. It is always easier to climb a moun- 
tain than to level it My Novel. 

4. The exploring mind brings jewels 

from the caves of knowledge Lady of 

Lyons. 

5. Whatever you lend, let it be your 
money and not your name Shun Debt. 

6. With honor, poverty is a noble; 
without honor, wealth is a pauper Id. 

7. The mate for beauty should be a 

man and not a money chest On Mar- 

riage. 

8. Curses are like young chickens, 
And still come home to roost. 

Thr Lath/ of Lyons. 

9. Talent, the sunshine on a cultured soil, 
Ripens the fruit by slow degrees for toil. 

Talent and Oetmu. 
10. There lingers about the human 



heart :i -lien- inclination to look upward. 

— My Novel. 

11. If a good face is a letter of recom- 
mendation, a good heart i- a letter of 
c relit. — 1<L 

12. A good manner is tie- best thing in 

the world, either to L r H a good name or t" 
supply the want of it. — /</. 

18. Lose, like Death, levels all ranks. 

and lays the shepherd's crook beside the 

scepter. — Lady of Lyons. 

14. Enthusiasm is the genius of sincer- 
ity, and truth accomplishes no victory 
without it The Last Lays of Pompeii. 

15. Since Life's so short, we'll live to laugh, 

Ah ! wherefore waste a minute ! 
If youth's the cup we yet may quaff, 
Be love the pearl within it. 

The Last Day% of Pompeii. 

16. There is no death ! The stars go down 

To rise upon some fairer shore ; 
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown. 
» They shine for evermore. On Death. 

17. It cannot be that our life is a bub- 
ble, cast up by the ocean of eternity, to 
float a moment upon its waves, and >ink 
into nothingness — My Novel. 

18. Men rarely succeed in changing the 
world; but a man seldom fails of success 
if he lets the world alone, and resolves to 
make the best of it Id. 

19. Alone ! that worn out word. 

So idly spoken, and so coldly heard, 

Yet all that poets sing, and grief hath 

known 
Of hopes laid waste, knells in that word — 

Alone. The New Timon — Alone. 

20. There is a realm where the rainbow 
never fades — where the stars will spread 
out before us like islands that slumber on 
the ocean, where the beautiful beings 
which here pass before us like shadows, 
will stay in our presence forever. — The 
Distant Land. 

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, 

"The author whom England delighted to 

applaud," was born in Hertfordshire, 
March 18, 1807, died June 22, 1861. 
" Her marked precocity was encouraged 

by her admiring friends, who greeted her 
juvenile feats in literature with unbounded 
commendation, and lavished upon her 
every educational advantage that wealth 
could procure." Before she was twelve 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



she gave to the public poems of great 

merit Miss Barrett was married to 
Robert Browning, an English author, in 

1840, and shortly after accompanied him 
to Italy, where many of her best works 
were written. ller style is graceful, 
natural and easy. Some of her many line 
poems are Cowper's Grave, He Giveth 
His Beloved Sleep, The Cry of the Hu- 
man, Bertha in the Lane, Aurora Leigh, 
Lady Geraldine's Conrtship, and her last 
production — Poems before the Congress. 

GEMS. 

1. A happy life means prudent com- 
promise — Aurora Leigh. 

2. Blessed are those among nations 
who dare to be strong for the rest. — From 
her Letters. 

3. A good man is ever the graver for 
bearing a nation's trust secure — Id. 

4. A poor man served by thee, shall 
make thee rich. — From her Letter from 
Italy. 

5. It takes a soul to move a body ; it 
takes a high-souled man to move the 
masses. — Aurora Leigh. 

6. Books are men of higher stature, 
and the only men who speak aloud for fu- 
ture times to hear. — On Literature. 

7. Truth is large, our aspiration 
Scarce embraces half we be ; 
Shame to stand in His creation, 
And doubt Truth's sufficiency. 

The Dead Pan. 

8. Be fearless of storms which o'ertake you — 
Push forward through all like a man- 
Good fortunes will never forsake you 

If you do as near right as you can. 

Courage. 

9. Of all the thoughts of God that are 
Borne inward unto souls afar, 
Along the Psalmist s music deep, 
Now tell me if that any is 

For gift of grace surpassing this, — 
"He giveth His beloved sleep." 

He Giveth His Beloved Sleep. 

CAROLINE E. S. NORTON, 

(Miss Sheridan), 
"The poet who excels in writing fairy 
tales," was born in Scotland, May 9, 1808. 
She is a grand-daughter of R. Brinsley 
Sheridan, and has exhibited that genius 
for which the Sheridan family has been so 
prolific ; for she composed poems and pub- 



lished them before she was sixteen. Her 
writings arc rich in scholarship, pure in 
style, various in interest, and universal in 
sympathy. Mrs. Norton's recent public 
appearances have been chiefly on topics of 
social importance. She wrote The Sor- 
rows of Rosalie, The Undying One, The 
Child of the Island, Story of Dunleith, 
Address to Beauty, A Voice from the 
Factories, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. The day cometh when the dying 
shall rest The Future. 

2. Dimly we struggle onward ; who shall say 
Which glimmering light leads nearest to 

the day ? Address to Beauty. 

3. For death and life, in ceaseless strife, 

Beat wild on this world's shore ; 
And all our calm is in that balm, 
Not lost, but gone before ! 

Not Lost, but Gone Be/ore. 

4. Warriors and statesmen have their meed of 

praise, 
And what they do or suffer, men record ; 
But the long sacrifice of woman's days 
Pass without a thought, without a word. 
Woman's Sacrifice. 

5. Weep not for him who dieth, 
For he hath ceased from tears, 
And a voice to his replieth 
Which he hath not heard for years. 

On Sorrowing. 

6. They who have rarest joy know Joy's true 

measure ; 
They who most suffer value Suffering's 

pause ; 
They who but seldom taste the simplest 

pleasure, 
Kneel oftenest to the Giver — and the Cause. 
From Factory. 

7. " Thy will be done !" how hard a thing to 

say 
When sickness ushers in death's dreary 

knell ; 
When eyes that lately sparked bright and 

Ray, 
Wander around with dimly conscious ray, 
To some familiar face to say farewell. 

Thy Will be Done. 

LORD ALFRED TENNYSON, 

" The most popular English poet of the 
nineteenth century," and the sixteenth 
poet laureate, was born in Lincolnshire, 
May 15, 1810. 

He is a graduate from Trinity college ^ 
at the age of twenty he gave his first vol- 
ume of poems to the reading world; he 
rose rapidly to the exalted position he 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






now occupies. His style has the peculiar 
and subtle oharm which conies from per- 
fect ease and self-possession; in all his 

writings he ia a master in delicacy of feel- 
ing, happiness of expression, and refine- 
ment of sentiment. In Borne of bis solemn 
productions he fairly stirs the deepest and 
holiest feelings <>f our nature. Among 
his numerous work- are The Queen of 
May, In Memoriam, Loekaley Hall, 
Enoch Arden, Lady Clare, The Talking 
Oak. Elaine, Sea Dreams, etc. 
GEMS. 

1. 'Tis only noble to be good — Lady 
Clara Vere de Vere. 

2. He makes no friend who never made 
a foe. — Front a Letter. 

3. More tilings are wrought by prayer 
than this world dreams of. — Idyls. 

4. Kind hearts are more than coronets; 
And simple faith than Norman blood. 

Lady Clara Vere de Vere. 

5. Oh. yet we trust that something good 
"Will be the final goal of ill. In Memoriam. 

6. This is truth the poet sings, 
That a sorrow's crown of sorrow 
Is remembering happier days. 

Locksley Hall. 

7. I hold it true what'er befall ; 

I feel it when 1 sorrow most; 
'Tis better to have loved and lost 
Than never to have loved at all. 

In Memoriam. 

8. A lie which is all a lie may be met and fought 

with outright; 
But a lie which is a half a truth is a harder 
matter to fight. The Grandmother. 

9. I climb the hill ; from end to end 
Of all the landscape underneath, 

1 find no place that does not breathe 
Some gracious memory of my friend. 

In Memoriam. 

10. I hold it truth with him who sings 
To one clear harp in divers tones. 
That men may rise on stepping stones, 
Of their dead selves to higher things. 

Id. 

11. Rise, happy morn ! rise, holy morn ! 
Draw forth the cheerful day from night, 
0, Father! touch the East, and light 

The light that shone when Hope was born. 

Id. 

12. Tears, idle tears, I know not what they 

mean ; 

Tears from the depth of some divine de- 
spair 

Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes. 

In looking on the happy autumn fields, 

And thinking of the days that are no more. 
The l*rincess. 



WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACK- 
ERAY, 

"The renowned English Lecturer and 
writer of fiction," was born in Calcutta, 

Hindoostan, April 5, 1*11, died Decem- 
ber 24, L863. While quite young be irai 
sent to England and educated there, after 
which he decided to enter the field of lit- 
erature. He is certainly one of the great- 
est writers of fiction of the 19th century; 
in purity and gracefulness lie is unsur- 
passed. He was a keen student of human 
nature, quick to recognize and denounce 
its .weaknesses ; yet apparently lie found 
the deepest pleasure in depicting its lovely 
features, and recording its noblest mani- 
festations. Head his Vanity Fair, The 
Hoggarty Diamond, Irish Sketch Book, 
Snob Papers, The Newcomes, The 
Georges, Mrs. Perkin's Ball, The Vir- 
ginians, Our Street. 

GEMS. 

1. What a wonderful thing pleasure is. 
— Irish Sketch Book. 

2. We know so little what we really are 
after Id. 

3. A great pleasure of life is to admire 
rightly My Precepts. 

4. Fun is good, truth is better, and love 
is best of all Id. 

5. Don't throw yourself away, but 
have courage that cannot be beaten Id. 

6. Great men admire great things; nar- 
row spirits admire basely and worship 
meanly English Humor. 

7. Do not suppose that society is going 
to take out its handkerchief and be incon- 
solable when you die — Id. 

8. Try to frequent the company of 
your betters; in books and life that is the 
most wholesome society. — English Hu- 
morists. 

9. Oh, weary is life's path to all ! 

Hard is the strife, and light the fall, 
But wondrous the reward. 

On a Very Old Woman 

10. Yet, with a heart that's ever kind 

A gentle spirit gay, 
You've spring perennial in your mind 
And round you make a May ! 

The Last of May. 

11. And if in the time of sacred youth, 

We learned at borne to love and pray. 
Pray heaven that early love and truth 
May never wholly pass away. 

The End ot the Play. 



56 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



L2. Let it be said of you: what virtue 

ho know he tried to practice; what knowl- 
edge he could master, he strove to acquire. 

rge the Third. 

13. Ifethinks the text is never stale, 

Ami life is every day renewing 
Fresh comments on the old, old tale, 

CM' Folly. Fortune, Glory, Ruin. 

I ait it as Van it at um. 

14. Come wealth or want, come good or ill, 

Let young and old accept their part, 
And bow before the awful will 
And bear it with an honest heart. 

The End of the Play. 

15. Along engagement is a partnership 
which one party is free to keep or break, 
but which involves all .the capital of the 
other English Humorists. 

CHARLES DICKENS, 

"England's worshiped novelist," was 
born in Portsmouth, February 7, 1812, 
died June 9, 1870. Through poverty and 
menial toil he struggled successfully to ed- 
ucate himself. His first literary efforts 
were contributed to the Morning Chronicle, 
signed by his favorite nom de plume Boz. 
At the age of thirty he visited America ; 
afterwards, in his writings, made very un- 
kind and uncalled-for attacks upon the peo- 
ple and the institutions of the United 
States. He has always been considered 
the most popular novelist of his time ; he 
seemed to possess an inexhaustible fountain 
of brilliant humor, pathos, and descriptive 
•power. Some of his noted works are The 
Pickwick Papers, Nicholas Nickleby, Oli- 
ver Twist, Old Curiosity Shop, David 
Copperfield, Dombey and Son, Martin 
Chuzzlewit, Our Mutual Friend, Ameri- 
can Notes, Hard Times, A Tale of Two 
Cities. 

GEMS. 

1. Every failure teaches a man some- 
thing, if he will learn — Little Dorrit. 

2. There is no substitute for a thorough- 
going, ardent, sincere earnestness Advice 

to a Friend. 

3. Alas ! how T few of nature's faces are 
left to gladden us with their beauty. — Lit- 
tle Dorrit. 

4. Your character cannot be materially 
injured except by your own acts. — Pick- 
wick Papers. 

5. Hard study, and the entire absence 



of attention to the matter of diet, bring on 
disease. — Advice to a Friend. 

6. There are dark shadows on the earth, 
but its lights are stronger in the contrast. 
— Pickwick Papers. t 

7. Among men who have any sound and 
sterling qualities, there is nothing so cour- 
ageous as pure openness of heart. — Advice 
to a Friend. 

8. Don't crowd the good from out your heart 
By fostering all that's bad, 
But give to every virtue room — 

The best that may be had. Don't Crowd. 

9. Reflect upon your present blessings, 
of which every man has many ; not on 
your past misfortunes, of which all men 
have some From a Letter. 

10. The wheel of Time is rolling for 
an end, and the world is in all great essen- 
tials better, gentler, and more hopeful as 
it rolls. — American Notes. 

11. A truly refined mind will seem to 
be ignorant of the existence of anything 
that is not perfectly proper, placid, and 
pleasant. — Little Dorrit. 

12. There is no remorse so deep as that 
which is unavailing ; and if we would be 
spared its tortures, let us remember this in 
time Hard Times. 

13. If you had the abilities of all the 
great men, past and present, you could do 
nothing well without sincerely meaning it, 
and setting about it. — Advice to a Friend. 

14. None of us clearly know to whom 
or to what which we are indebted until 
some marked spot in the whirling wheel of 
life brings the right perception wdth it. — 
Little Dorrit. 

15. People need to rise early to see the 
sun in all his splendor, for his brightness 
seldom lasts all the day. The morning of 
day and the morning of life are much 
alike Pickwick Papers. 

16. Oh ! a dainty plant is the ivy green 
That creepeth o'er ruins old ! 
Of right choice food are his meals, I ween, 

In his cell so low and cold. 
The walls must be crumpled, the stones de- 
cayed, 
To pleasure his dainty whim ; 
And the mouldering dust that years have' 
made 

Is a merry meal for him, 
Creeping where no life is seen, 
A rare old plant is the ivy green. 

The Ivy Green [Pickwick Papers). 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






CHARLES MACKAY, 

"The popular lyrical poet," was born in 
Perth, Scotland, June l, L812. He was 
educated in London, Brussels and Glas- 
gow, and edited the Morning Chronicle 
and Glasgow Argus for several years. lit- 
is now an author of considerable fame, 
ranking with the first of the present Brit- 
isli poets. lie introduces many noble 
ami sublime passages, and is especially 
popular for the high finish, gracefulness 

and vivid beauty of his style; and the 

moral purity and earnest humanity por- 
trayed in his verse exeite the sympathy 
and reach the heart of the public. He 
wrote The Hope of the World, The 
Dream of the Reveler, Longbeard, 
Voices from the Crowd, Lump of Gold, 
Under the Blue Sky, The Inquiry, Song 
of the Brave. 

GEMS. 

1. Blessed are they who can control 
their passions — Voices. 

2. Why in the darkness should we grope, 
When 'the sun, in heaven's resplendent cope, 
Shines as bright as ever it shone? Now. 

3. The present needs us. Every age 
Bequeathes the next for heritage 
No lazy luxury or delight. 

But strenuous labor for the right. Id. 

4. So let us live 

That from the past we may receive 
Light for the now, from now a joy 
Fate shall not mar, nor time destroy. Id. 

5. Sweet loving-kindness ! if thou sbine, 
The plainest face may seem divine, 
And beauty's self grow doubly bright 
In the mild glory of thy light. 

I'uder the Blue Sky. 

6. A whisper on a tumult thrown — a transi- 

tory breath — 
It raised a brother from the dust; it saved 

a soul from death. 
germ! fount 1 word of love! 

thought at random cast ! 
Ye were but little at the first, but mighty 

at the last. Sum 11 Ihqiunings. 

7. Tell me, ye winged winds, that round my 

pathway roar, 
Do ye not know some spot where mortals 

weep no more ? 
Some lone and pleasant dell, some valley in 

the \\ 
Where free from toil and pain, the weary 

soul may rest? 
The loud wind dwindled to a whisper low, 
And sighed for pity as it answered •• No !" 
The Inquiry. 



JOHN RUSKIN, 

''The literary artUt in art," was horn in 

London, February 1, 181 9. 

lie has made art a special study since 
his graduation at Oxford; has published 

many hooks on architecture and painting. 
No writer has suffered more adverse crit- 
icism than he, and yet scholars are b< 

ning to admit that he has done more than 
any other living writer to stimulate the 
public interest in art. His productions 
should he read with studious care Among 
them are Modern Painters, The Seven 
Lamps of Architecture, The Stones of 
Venice, Water, The Ethics of the Dust, 
Unto His Last, The Queen of the Air, 
etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Learn to yield to right. — Saymg. 

2. Conceit may puff a man up, but 
never prop him up — Id. 

3. The first test of a truly great man is 
his humility Id. 

4. Nature has a thousand ways and 
means of rising above herself. — The Queen 
of the Air. 

5. We want downright facts at the 

present time more than anything else 

On Architecture. 

6. The gift of every great man is to 
get good out of all things and all persons. 
— Saying. 

7. It is only by labor that thought can 
be made healthy, and only by thought 
that labor can be made happy; and the 

two cannot be separated with impunity 

Labor. 

8. Wise men keep one side of their life 
for play and another for work ; and can 
be brilliant and transparent when they 
are at ease, and yet take deep counsel 
when they set themselves to the main 
purpose Wafer. 

9. Trees, clouds, and rivers, are enjoy- 
able even by the careless. But the stone 
under the foot has nothing for the careless 
persons but stumbling ; no pleasure is to 
be had out of it, nor food, nor good of any 
kind ; nothing hut symbolism of the hard 
heart and unfatherly gift. Yet do but 
give it some reverence and watchfiili 
and there is bread of thought in it more 
than in any other lowly feature of all the 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



landscape. For a stone, when it is ex- 
amined, will be found a mountain in 
miniatu re . — 7 R <' Earth . 

CHARLES. KINGSLEY, 

U A theologian and writer of historical fic- 
tion," was born in Devonshire, England, 
June 2, 1810. He was well educated at 
different colleges, after which he com- 
menced his labors in the ministry and in 
literature. He has won the sympathies 
and admiration of the working classes 
through the strong efforts made to amelior- 
ate their condition. As a novelist and 
poet he has attained the first rank; he is 
a man of original genius and has very rare 
powers of portraying real life, as shown 
by the characters and vivid descriptions of 
nature in his productions. He wrote 
Saint's Tragedy, Alton Locke, Hypatia, 
The Heroes, Two Years Ago, Water 
Babies, Hermits, How and Why, Prose 
Idyls, Yeast, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Woe to them who think that they 
may partake of the cup of the Lord and 
the cup of devils Hypatia. 

2. In the most insignificant characters 
there are unfathomable depths which we 
can never analyze. — Id. 

3. Man, in his pride and self-sufficiency, 
despises humiliation, and penance, and 
the contrite heart Hermits. 

4. Do what thou dost as if the earth were 
heaven, 
And that thy last day were the judgment 

day; 
W hen all's done, nothing is done. 

From a Sermon. 

5. Wherever is love and loyalty, great 
purposes and lofty souls, even though in a 
hovel or a mine, there is fairy-land. — 
Prose Idyls. 

6. But men must work and women must weep, 

Though storms be sudden and waters deep, 
And the harbor bar be moaning. 

Three Fishers Went Sailing. 

7. Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be 

clever ; 

Do noble things, not dream them, all day 
long; 

And so make life, death, and that vast for- 
ever 

One grand sweet song. A Farewell. 



8. Who taught mankind on that first Christ- 
mas day. 
AVhat 'twas to be a man ; to give, not take ; 
To serve, not rule ; to nourish, not devour; 
To help, not crush ; if need, to die, not live ? 
Christmas Verses. 

JONN TYNDALL, LL. D., 

" The renowned Irish scientific lecturer 
and author," was born in Carlow, Ireland, 
August 21, 1820. The study of physics 
became his favorite pursuit from early boy- 
hood, and such marked progress did he 
make that in 1853 he was elevated to the 
chair of Natural Philosophy in the Royal 
Institution of London. His lectures and 
writings on subjects of natural science 
have been masterly achievements, and 
have won for him the most profound re- 
spect of all thinkers. Tyndall is unques- 
tionably in the first rank of distinguished 
scientists. Read and study his Lectures 
on Heat and Light, Hours of Exercise in 
the Alps, Science for Unscientific People, 
On Radiation, Faraday as a Discoverer. 

GEMS. 

1. It is vain to attempt to separate 
moral and emotional nature from intellec- 
tual nature. — Advice to Students. 

2. The circle of human nature is not 
complete without the arc of feeling and 
emotion Ibid. 

3. Science ought to teach us to see the 
invisible as well as the visible in nature. 
— lectures. 

4. We may remove obstacles, and ren- 
der latent capacities active, but we cannot 
suddenly change the nature of man. — Ad- 
dress to Students. 

5. Round about the intellect sweeps the 
horizon of emotions from which all our 
noblest impulses are derived. — Ibid. 

6. As surely as the force which moves 
a clock's hands is derived from the arm 
which winds the. clock, so surely is all ter- 
restrial power drawn from the sun — Lec- 
ture. 

7. The formation of right habits is es- 
sential to your permanent security. They 
diminish your chance of falling when as- 
sailed, and they augment your chance of 
recovery when overthrown. — Address to 
Students. 

8. The new-born man comes to us as a 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 






bundle of inherited capacities and tenden- 
cies, labeled "From the indefinite pasl to 
the indefinite future;" and be makes his 
transit from the one to the other through 
the education of the present time. — Id. 

GEORGE ELIOT, 
(Marian fj. Evftnfl, Mrs. I.ewes. Mrs. Civ- 

"A remarkably gifted novelist," was horn 
in Arbury, England, November 22, 1820, 
died December 22, 1880. Through the 
influence of several eminent men who dis- 
covered in her the Bigns of great intellec- 
tual power, she was educated in London. 
While it is know ni hatshe had natural tastes 
for Literature, and that she wrote much dur- 
ing her leisure hours at school for her own 
amusement, the public was not permitted to 
read any of her productions until she was 
thirtj-eigbt. Her novels have met with 
a warm reception everywhere. Among her 
works are Adam Bede, The Mill on the 
Flo>s, Romola, Middlemareh, Felix Holt, 
Daniel Deronda, Scenes of Clerical Life, 
Theophrastus Such. 

GEMS. 

1. Our deeds determine us as much as 
we determine our deeds. — Adam Bede. 

2. Sacrifices won't undo a wrong when 
it's done. — Id. 

?,. Awake my soul, and with the sun 

Thy daily stage of duty run. 
4. Let all thy converse be sincere, 

Thy conscience as the noon-day clear. 

Id. 
-"). The bitterest of all is to wear the 

yoke of our own wrong-doing Daniel 

Deronda. 

6. To have once acted greatly seems to 
make a reason why we should always be 
noble. — Romola. 

7. Genius at first is little more than a 
capacity for receiving discipline. — 

Daniel Deronda. 

8. No soul is desolate as long as there 
is a human being for whom it can feel 
trust and reverence. — Romola. 

9. I would not give a penny for a man 
who would drive a nail in slack because he 

didn't get extra pay for it Adam Bede. 

1<>. Results which depend on human 
Conscience and intelligence work slowly. 
— Middlemareh. 

11. The proper way to check slander is 



to despise it ; attempt to overtake and re- 
fute it, and il will outrun you. 

12. There i> no creature whose inward 
being is so strong that it i- not greatly 
determined by what ii<-- outside of it. — 
Daniel Deronda. 

18. Vague praise, or praise with f 

notes in its singing, is something to be en- 
dured with difficult resignation. 
a /')/'<-//>/. 

i 4. The most melancholy thought surely 

would be that we in our own person 8 had 

measured and exhausted the sour< i 
spiritual good. — Letter to a Friend. 

L5. We can only have the highest hap- 
piness by having wide thoughts and much 
feeling for the rest of the world as well as 
ourselves — Romola. 

16. It would be a poor result of all our 
anguish and our wrestling, if we won 
nothing but our old selves at the end of it. 
— Adam Bede. 

17. It is a vain thought to flee from the 
work that God appoints, for the sake of find- 
ing a greater blessing to our own souls. — Id. 

18. Men's lives are as thoroughly 
blended with each other as the air they 
breathe; evil spreads as necessarily as dis- 
ease — Id. 

19. To judge wisely we must know how 
•things appear to the unwise — that kind of 
appearance making the larger part of the 
world's history Daniel Deronda. 

20. May I reach that purest heaven, be to other 
souls 
The cup of strength in some great agony. 
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty. 

Oh, May 1 Join the. Choir Invisible. 

21. Examine your words well, and you 
will find that even when you have no mo- 
tive to be false, it is a very hard thing to 
say the exact truth. — Adam Bede. 

22, To delight in doing things because 
our fathers did them is good if it shuts out 
nothing better: it enlarges the range of 
affection — and affection is the broadest 
basis of good in life. — Daniel Deronda. 

REV. CHARLES H. SPURGEON, 

*' An illustrious Baptist divine and glori- 
ous writer," was born in Essex, England, 
dune 19, IS- I. 

Before arriving at the a«xe of eighteen 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



he became pastor of a small congregation 
at Waterbeach, and one year afterward 
was called to the New Park Street chapel 
in London, to which his preaching at- 
tracted Buch crowds that large halls were 
secured until his flock built a chapel capa- 
ble o\' Beating six thousand. He has 
written much, and no author's works are 
more eagerly read by those seeking edifi- 
cation as well as interest and entertain- 
ment. He wrote Gems, The Saint and His 
Saviour, Gleaning Among the Sheaves, 
John Ploughman's Talk. Evening by 
Evening, Feathers for Arrows, Emblem. 

GEMS— [I-Yoin John Ploughman's Talk and Sermons. J 

1. Silence seldom makes mischief. 

2. Idleness is the key of beggary and 
the root of all evil. 

3. Keep clear of the man who does not 
value his own character. 

4. Keep a warm heart below, however 
deep the snow. 

5. While foxes are so common, wemust 
not be geese. 

6. Let your confidence in friends be 
weighed in balances of prudence. 

7. Remember that good wisdom is that 
which will turn out to be wise in the end. 

8. Better offend your acquaintance than 
lose your character and lose your soul. 

9. Don't believe in the man who talks 
most ; for mewing cats are very seldom 
good mousers. 

10. An arrow may fly through the air 
and leave no trace ; but an ill thought 
always leaves a trail like a serpent. 

11. If you dash your head against the 
law of nature, the law of nature will not 
change for you ; and if you labor in oppo- 
sition to the irreversible law of God, you 
will pay the penalty of it in your failure. 

12. Behold the picture of the self- 
righteous man's undertaking. He may 
labor, he may toil ; but he is filling a bot- 
tomless tub with leaky buckets ; and work 
as he may, success is impossible. 

13. Without light no radiance flashes 
from the sapphire, no peaceful ray pro r 
ceedeth from the pearl. There is naught 
of beauty left when light is gone. Light 
is the mother ofbeanty. 

14. " Truth lies in the well," said the 
old philosopher. Many go down into that 



well to find the truth, but, looking into the 
water, they see their own faces, and be- 
came so desperately enamored of their own 
beauty that they forget poor Truth, or 
dream that she is the counterpart of them- 
selves. 

JEAN INGELOW, 

" An admired composer of sweet poems," 
was born in Lincolnshire, England, Octo- 
ber 1, 1835. 

Miss Ingelow is beloved by all who 
have read her productions for the sim- 
plicity of her verse and the winning sweet- 
ness that pervades all her sentiments. She 
has written several novels which, while they 
have been applauded, have not been re- 
ceived with the favor accorded to her 
poetry. Her writings, both prose and 
poetry, show her amiable disposition, lov- 
ing character, and poetical susceptibilities. 
A vein of pathos runs through most of her 
works, making them especially popular. 
Among them are Studies for Stories, The 
High Tide, A Story of Doom, Poor Mat, 
Songs of Seven, The Letter L, Songs of 
the Night Watcher, Mopsa the Fairy, Off 
the Skelligs. 

GEMS. 

1. Tears are the show r ers that fertilize 
this world Regret. 

2. A thing of beauty is for me 

A thing to love and learn. Honors. 

3. Memory of things precious keeps warm 
The heart that once did hold them. 

Regret. 

4. Is there never a chink in the world above 
Where they listen for words from below? 

Supper at the Mill. 

5. Like coral insects, multitudinous 

The minutes are whereof our life is made. 

Work. 

6. Man dwells apart, but not alone, 

He walks among his peers, unread; 
The best of thoughts which he has known, 
For lack of listeners are not said. 

Parsonage. 

7. There was never a night without a day, 

Nor an evening without a morning ; 
And the darkest hour, the proverb goes, 
Is the hour before the dawning. 

8. We are aware of some few dangers, 
and we do what we can to provide agaipst 
them; but for the greater portion, our 
eyes are held that we cannot see — From 
her Diary. 



FRENCH UTKUATURE. 



01 



p. 



10 



1 1 



•his thread of gold, 
We would cot hare it tarnish; lei us turn 
on and look back upon the vrondroua web, 
And when it shineth sometimee, we shall 

know- 
That memory is in possession. oVyrtf. 
What though unmarked the happy work- 
man toil 
Ami break, nnthanked of man, the stab- 
born clod, 
It is enough, Tor Bacred is the soil. 

Dear are the hills of God. Honors. 

Are the voices in the ralley 

Lying near the heavenly gate? 

When it opens, do the harp-strings, 

Touched within, reverberate ? 



When 

Tii your couch at night-fall <j>>. 

Ait their IwiftwingS heard to ru 
Tell me ! if von know. 

Nuw my BUD will soon depart; 

Quiet Lfl the closing 'I 

God dot ii gently smooth the way 

And with peace mv waiting heart 

Still endow. 

Bridegroom at a feast divine, 

Earth her best doth first afford. 
But the WOrser afterward ; 
But thou hasl kept the good wine 
Until now. 
The But to Come. 



FRENCH LITEATURE. 



Tins work contains a short biographical sketch (including choice extracts) from four 
of the authors found on the pages of French literature. Students should make a more 
extended acquaintance with the writers who could produce such finished sentences and 
fine sentiments as may be found in the poetry and prose of France. 



FRANCOIS LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, 

"Whose home became the centre of all 
the elegance and learning of* France," was 
horn in Foitou, December 14, 1613, died 
March 18, 1680. He became a finished 
scholar at an early age, and soon devoted 
himself to the pursuit of literature to 
meet the literary and philosophical taste 
of France. His maxims and practical 
thoughts have always been read and 
studied in his country. Voltaire says 
of him: "One of the works which con- 
tributed most to form the taste of the na- 
tion to a justness and precision of thought 
and expression, was his collection of max- 
ims." His works are styled Maxims, Re- 
flections, Philosophy, Treatises, etc. 

( ;KMS— [From his Maxims.] 

1. Wisdom is to the soul what health is 
to the body. 

2. Eminence is to merit what tine attire 
is to a handsome person. 

3. Every one complains of his memory ; 
nobody of his judgment 

4. Silence is the safest course for any 
man to adopt who mistrusts himself. 



5. Flattery is a kind of bad money, to 
which our vanity gives currency. 

6. The blemishes of the mind, like 
those of the face, grow worse as we grow 
old. 

7. When we do not find peace within 
ourselves, it is vain to seek for it else- 
where. 

8. We are never so ridiculous from the 
habits we have as from those we affect to 
have. 

9. We seldom find people ungrateful 
so long as it is thought that we can serve 
them. 

10. If we had no defects ourselves, we 
should not take >o much pleasure in noting 
those of others. 

11. However brilliant an action, it 
should not be esteemed great unless the 
result of a great motive. 

12. We should often be ashamed of our 
very best actions, if the world only saw 
the motives which caused them. 

L3. The art of using moderate abilities 
to advantage wins praise, and often 
quirefl more reputation than real ability. 

11. Few persons have sufficient wisdom 



62 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



to prefer censure which is useful to them, 
to praise which deceives them. 

JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 

" The celebrated French writer of fables," 
was born in Champagne, France, Febru- 
ary 14, 1621, died July 8, 1695. His 
father being in only moderate circum- 
stances, the boy's education was neglected ; 
he was twenty-five before he devoted him- 
self to the cultivation of his mind, after 
which he rose rapidly and became zeal- 
ously interested in the ancient classics and 
general literature. Through the assis- 
tance of friends he soon became popular, 
and his works were eagerly read through- 
out his country. They are noted for their 
common-sense expressions, and are studied 
in the schools of France to this day. He 
wrote Fables, Lettres, Contes, Le Flor- 
entin, etc. 

GEMS; — [From his Maxims ] 

1. Gentleness succeeds better than vio- 
lence. 

2. Patience and time do more than 
strength and passion. 

3. Beware of judging men by their out- 
ward appearance. 

4. The fastidious are unfortunate ; no- 
thing can satisfy them. 

5. Example is a dangerous lure ; where 
the wasp got through, the gnat sticks fast. 

6. We ought never to mock the wretched, 
for who can be sure of being always 
happy ? 

7. Nothing is so dangerous as an igno- 
rant friend ; a wise enemy is worth much 
more. 

8. Happy is the man who lives at home, 
making it his business to regulate his de- 
sires. 

9. Imprudence, silly talk, foolish vanity, 
and vain curiosity, are closely allied ; they 
are children of one family. 

10. Everything is mingled with bitterness and 
charms; 
War has its sweets, and Hymen its alarms. 

BLAISE PASCAL, 

"The great mathematical genius," was 
born at Clermont, France. April 15, 1623, 
died October 5, 1CG2. He was a prodigy 
in mathematics, for even in his youthful 



days he discovered many of the elementary 
truths of that science; acquiring a fair 
knowledge of the classics, he wrote trea- 
tises on geometry, and invented an arith- 
metical machine. He suddenly abandoned 
scientific pursuits and gave his whole atten- 
tion to religion, and was contemplating an 
extensive work on the fundamental prin- 
ciples of religion, but death prevented its 
completion. He wrote Conic Sections, 
Provincial Letters, Plain Thoughts, 
Mathematical Truths, etc. 

GEMS— [From Plain Thoughts.'] 

1. Eloquence is a painting of the 
thoughts. 

2. Fashion is a tyrant from which noth- 
ing frees us. 

3. Man is only a reed, the weakest 
plant of nature, but he is a thinking reed. 

4. Do you wish that people think well 
of you ? then don't speak well of yourself. 

5. The delights of glory are so great 
that to whatever it is attached, even to 
death, we love it. 

6. Justice and truth are two points so 
fine that our instruments are too blunt to 
touch them to a nicety. 

7. Had the nose of Cleopatra been a 
little shorter, the whole face of the earth 
would have been changed. 

8. What an enigma is man ! what a 
novelty, what a chaos, what a bundle of 
contradictions, what a prodigy. 

9. The virtue of a man ought to be 
measured not by his extraordinary exer- 
tions, but by his every-day conduct. 

10. The spirit of piety invariably leads 
man to speak with truth and sincerity; 
while envy and hatred resort to falsehood 
and calumny. 

JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU, 

" The brilliant writer of beautiful things," 
was born at Geneva, March 7, 1712, 
died July 2, 1778. Although he had not 
received a practical education, yet his 
good judgment and sound reasoning raised 
him to high positions. He went to France, 
at an early age, and in Paris commenced 
his literary career; his works contained 
many excellent suggestions, but the 
French parliament took exceptions to cer- 
tain parts of one of them, and compelled 



GERMAN LITERATURE. 



the author to leave the country. He fled 

to England, and remained for a short 
time a close friend of David Hume; after 
returning to Prance, he lived in seclusion 
until lu' died. He wrote Origin of Social 
Compact, Causes of Inequality, Emile, 

GEMS— {Awn Maxim*.] 

1. A feeble body weakens the mind. 

2. To try to conceal our own heart is a 
bad means to read that of others. 

3. Conscience is the voice of the soul, 
the passions are the voice of the body. 

4. I have always said and felt that true 
enjoyment cannot be expressed in words. 



."». lb- u ho is most -low in makii 

promise, i- the most faithful in it- perfor- 
mance. 

•;. If you take from the wi><- the pleas- 
ure of being listened to. knowledge will 
be nothing to them. 

7. Brains well prepared are the monu- 
ments where human knowledge is most 
Burely engraved. 

8. Remorse goes to sleep when we are 

in the enjoyment of prosperity, and makes 
itself felt in adversity. 

9. Nothing makes so much impression 
on the heart of man, as the voice of friend- 
ship when it is really known to be sick. 



GERMAN LITERATURE. 



Or the large number of bright lights on the pages of the literature of Germany, 
only the four leading representatives of the different departments have been chosen 
for this work. Students will be amply remunerated by searching more deeply among 
the authors of that glorious empire. 



CHRISTOPHER M. WIELAND, 

" One of Germany's many prodigies," was 
born in Oberholtzheim, Swabia, Septem- 
ber 3, 1733, died January 20, 1813. He 
early learned the Latin, Greek, and He- 
brew languages, and by the time he had 
reached the age of twelve, had written 
poetry, first in Latin and then in German, 
lb' soon studied English and French lit- 
erature; afterwards became editor of 
Deutscher Mercury a monthly periodical 
devoted to literary criticism, with which 
he remained connected until the end of 
his life. He wrote many poems of an 
amatory character. His works generally- 
gained for him great popularity every- 
where. Among them are The Most 
Perfect World, Ten Moral Letters, Vic- 
tory of Nature over Fanaticism, Cupid 
Accused, The Choice of Hercules, Oberon. 

< ;I:MS— [From Moral Utters.] 

1. All good finally results in pleasure, 
all evil in pain. 

2. He is the most perfect who is the 
most zealous in God's work. 



3. Here must be determined what we 
may be in the world to come. 

4. Trust not in men, whose strength is 
a shadow, whose life is a dream. 

5. Man is ever forgetful of his depend- 
ence on God, but idolizes the glitter of 
sinful things. 

6. What is this life but a condition of 
probation and preparation, wherein all 
things point to another world ? 

7. A man who is happy in his own 
house is always a good citizen, a good 
companion, and a good person. 

8. Most people are puffed up with a 
feeling of their own worth, because they 
know not the true worth of a person. 

JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE, 

"Germany's distinguished poet." was 
born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Septem- 
ber 28, 174!), died March 22, 1832. He 
was a wonderfully precocious child, and 
was handsome, lively, and sensitive; he 
was taught at home, and before he was 
ten, wrote several languages, meditated 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



poems, invented stories, and had consider- 
able familiarity with works of art lie 

published many valuable works, but not 
until 1805 did tbe great work of his life 
see Light — •'Faust" — which raised him to 
the highest pinnacle of fame, and he was 
universally acknowledged to be the first 
poet of his country. He was the author 
of Faust, Wilhelm Meister, Truth and 
Poetry, Goethe and Mendelssohn, Iphi- 
genia. 

GEMS. 

1. Do you seek genuine and worthy 
fame ? 

2. If feeling does not prompt, in vain 
you strive. 

3. Self-love exaggerates our faults as 
well as our virtues Wilhelm Meister. 

4. Behavior is a mirror in which every 
one shows his image Elective Affinities. 

5. The future hides it in gladness and sorrow ; 
Naught abides in it daunting us onward. 

6. Love has power to give in a moment 
what toil can scarcely give in an age. 

V. Xow it is day ; be doing every one ! 

For the night cometh, wherein work can 
none. 

8. Falsehood, like an arrow directed by 
a god, flies back and w r ounds the archer. 

9. Talents are best nurtured in solitude ; 
character is best formed in the stormy bil- 
lows of the w r orld Torquato Tasso. 

10. Never hope to stir the hearts of men, 
And mould the souls of many into one, 
By words which come not native from the 

heart. 

11. One cannot do a young man any 
greater kindness than initiate him early in 
the future business of his life — Wilhelm 
Meister. 

12. He who with life makes sport 

Can prosper never 
He who rules himself in naught 
Is slave forever. 

13. He alone is worthy of respect, who 
knows what is of use to himself and others, 
and who labors to control his self-will. 

14. Poetry is a gushing well 

That scorns the niggard measure; 
Keeps the blood warm and makes it swell 
In pulsing veins with pleasure. 

On Poetry. 

15. Each man has his own fortune in 



his hands, as the artist has a piece of rude 
matter which he is to fashion to a certain 
shape. 

1G. We first observe how dreary an 
over-clouded day is, when a single sun- 
beam pierces through and offers to us the 
exhilarating splendor of a serene hour. 

17. There is quite as much selfishness 
in giving pain to others, when we see them 
full of enjoyment, as in showing over- 
flowing kindness to one's self and to one's 
friends — Truth and Poetry. 

18. There are moments in life in which 
circumstances, like winged shuttles, move 
backward and forward before us, and 
ceaselessly finish the web which we our- 
selves, more or less, have spun and put 
upon the loom — Wilhelm Meister. 

19. As all nature's thousand changes 

But one changeless God proclaim; 
So in art's wide kingdom ranges 

One sole meaning all the same : 
This is truth, eternal reason, 

Which from beauty takes its dress, 
And serene through time and season, 

Stands for aye in loveliness. 

JOHANN C. F. SCHILLER, 

" The greatest German dramatist," w T as 
born in Wurtemberg, November 10, 1759, 
died May 9, 1805. He was first destined 
for the church, next for the law, hut he 
chose medicine, and at the age of twenty- 
one became a surgeon in the army. At an 
early age he had composed poetry and 
dramas, and for several years he had been 
engaged on a Tragedy, " Die Rauber," 
which on its publication created an im- 
mense sensation. The grand ideal per- 
vading all his works is that of the highest 
intellectual and moral culture as a ground 
work of liberty, and he expressed his 
thoughts in prose and poetry with impas- 
sioned eloquence, and at the same time 
with artistic grace and felicity. His works 
are William Tell, The Robbers, Wallen- 
stein, History of the Thirty Year's "War, 
Maid of Orleans, Marie Stuart, Don 
Carlos, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. A benevolent person opens his gates 
For all strangers, none are excluded. 

2. Oh, what a noble heavenly gift is light ! 
By light, that blessed being, all things live, 

William Tell. 



GERMAN I.ITKKATURE. 



88 



:i. One drop of hate, that in tin- cup of joy 
Remains, changes the blessed draught to 
poison. 
1. Man needfl little ; and nature in 

abundance provides for life's sustenance. — 
Maid of OrlecBU. 
:>. ()! remember there is a God in 

he*Ten to whom you must give an account 
of all your deeds. 

0". Have LiOVe I Not love alone tor one ; 
Bat man as man. thy brother call, 
And scatter like the circling sun, 
Thy charities on all. 

7. Have Faith ! where'er thy bark is driven — 

The calm's disport, the tempest's mirth — 
Know this ! Cod rules the hosts of heaven. 
The inhabitants of earth. 

8. Have Hope ! Though clouds environ round, 

And gladness hides her face in scorn, 
Put thou the shadow from thy brow — 
No night but hath its morn. 

9. And well an earnest word beseems, 

The work the earnest hand prepares ; 
Its load more light the labor deems, 

When sweet discourse the labor shares. 
And well it stamps our human race. 

And hence the gift to understand, 
That man within the heart should trace 

Whate'er he fashions with the hand. 

The Lay of the Bell. 

JOHANN PAUL FRIEDERICH 
RICHTER, 

" Jean Paul, the Only One," was born in 
Wnnsiedel, Germany, March 21, 1763, 
died November 14, 1825. He was partly 
educated by his father, until at the age of 
eighteen he entered the university of 
Leipsic. He was destined for the church, 
but, on account of poverty, was compelled 
to abandon all idea of studying theology; 
and to earn a little money composed his 
first work, which, after great difficulty, 
was published, but not well received. His 
subsequent productions were greatly ad- 
mired and eagerly read. He is the greatest 
of German humorists. He wrote the 



Praise of Stupidity. Greenland Lawsuits, 
What Death is, Invisible The 

Parson in Jubilee, Titan, etc. 

■IS— [From ft it Maxiiwi.] 

1. Time is the chrysalis of eternity. 

2. Joys are our wings, sorrow- are the 
spur-. 

3. Men find it more easy to flatter than 
to praise. 

I. There is a long and wearisome step 
between admiration and imitation. 

o. Tears of joy are the dew in which 
the sun of righteousness is mirrored. 

G. Every friend is to the other a sun 
and a sunflower also. He attracts and 
follows. 

7. What we are merely taught, x Mom 
nourishes the mind like that which we 
teach ourselves. 

8. Humanity is never so beautiful as 
when praying for forgiveness, or else for- 
giving another. 

9. Joy descends gently upon us like the 
evening dew, and does not patter down 
like a hail-storm. 

10. We learn our virtues from the 
bosom friends who love us; our faults 
from the enemy who hates us. 

II. Hearts are flow r ers, they remain 
open to the softening dew, but shut up in 
the violent down-pour of rain. 

12. All cares appear as large again as 
they are, owing to their emptiness and 
darkness ; it is so with the grave. 

13. A timid person is frightened be- 
fore a danger, a coward during the time, 
and a courageous person afterwards. 

14. The darkness of death is like the 
evening twilight, it makes all objects ap- 
pear more lovely to the dykig. 

15. We have all wept ; each fortunate 
or happy one, at times for woe, and each 
unfortunate or unhappy one, at times for 
pleasure. 



66 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 

The United States has hundreds of authors whose works have gained great popu- 
larity, but only those whose productions sparkle with choice thought-gems have been 
selected for this volume. These pages contain sketches, etc., of thirty of our leading 
representatives, the study of which will, we trust, create a desire to drink more deeply 
at the sparkling fountain of America's literature. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 

"Our illustrious journalist, statesman, pa- 
triot, discoverer, inventor, philanthrophist, 
author," was born in Boston, January 6, 
170G, died April 17, 1790. There were 
American writers upon the stage of action 
before Franklin, but as their productions 
contain so few grains of gold, we consider 
this worthy example entitled to the leader- 
ship of our vast army of authors. The 
incidents of the life of this eminent char- 
acter are familiar to all historical students. 
No writer has given to his posterity such 
gems of practical utility ; they tend to en- 
large our sympathies and feelings, to stir the 
heart with benevolence and affection, and 
to lead us to higher and nobler aspirations. 
He wrote Liberty a Necessity, The Busy- 
Body, Poor Richard's Almanac, Light- 
house Tragedy, Blackbeard, Historical Re- 
view. 

GEMS— [From Poor Richard's Ahnanac] 

1. A word to the wise is enough. 

2. Lying rides upon debt's back. 

3. The sleeping fox catches no poultry. 

4. Heaven helps them that help them- 
selves. 

5. If you would have your business 
done, go; if not, send. 

6. Want of care does us more harm 
than want of knowledge. 

7. Waste neither time nor money, but 
make the best use of both. 

8. If you would be wealthy, think of 
saving as well as of getting. 

9. Early to bed and early to rise, 
Makes one healthy, wealthy and wise. 

10. When you run into debt you give 
another power over your liberty. 

11. Industry need not wish, and he 
that lives on hopes will die fasting. 

12. Constant droppings wear away 
stones, and little strokes fell great oaks. 



13. Buy what thou hast no need of, 
and ere long thou wilt sell thy neces- 
saries. 

14. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster 
than labor wears ; while the used key is 
always bright. 

15. Lost time is never found again; 
and what we call time enough always 
proves little enough. 

16. I look upon death to be as neces- 
sary to our constitution as sleep; we shall 
rise refreshed in the morning. 

17. If you would not be forgotten as 
soon as you are dead, either write things 
worth reading or do things worth writing. 

18. The longer I live the more con- 
vincing proofs I see of this truth — that 
God governs in the affairs pf men. — Motion 

for Prayers. 

19. Employ thy time well, if thou 
meanest to gain leisure ; and since thou 
art not sure of a minute, throw not away 
an hour. 

20. If a man empties his purse into his 
head, no one can take it from him. An 
investment in knowledge always pays the 
best interest. 

21. A Bible and a newspaper in every 
house, a good school in every district — 
all studied and appreciated as they merit, 
— are the principal support of virtue, 
morality, and civil liberty. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

"The Father of his Country," was born 
on Bridges' Creek, Virginia, February 
22, 1732, died December 14, 1799. This 
immortal name is placed among our lit- . 
erary representatives because of the pre- 
cious thought-gems that have been gleaned 
from his writings. He began when a 
small boy to keep an exact journal of his 
observations; in this private diary have 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 



W 



been found recorded many important facta 
which the country could not have learned 
from any other source. The life of Wash- 
ington was so engrossed with the cares of 
his people, that he had little time for 1 1 1 — 
erary pursuits, and yet he left many 
choice expressions to his posterity. His 
life i> familiar to every American, and to 
the intelligent of every enlightened land. 

< .EMS — [Fiom hit Diary, LetU rs, on i Speeches.] 

1. The stints of adversity excite the 
dormant powers within us. 

2. To persevere in one's duty and lie 
silent, is the best answer to calumny. 

3. If you would he great in this world, 
have your heart right for the world to 
come. 

-1. The company in which we shall im- 
prove most, will be the least expensive to 
us. 

5. Labor to keep alive in your breast 
that little spark of celestial fire called con- 
science. 

G. Never take my sword from its scab- 
bard but in self defence, or in defence of 
our country and her freedom. 

7. Of all the dispositions and habits 
which lead to political prosperity, religion 
and morality are indispensable supports. 

8. Reason and experience both forbid 
us to expect that natural morality can 
prevail in exclusion of religious principles. 

9. Express your utmost horror and 
detestation of the man who wishes, under 
any specious pretenses, to overturn the 

liberties of our country Address to his 

Officers, 

10. If men are to be precluded from 
offering their sentiments on a matter 
which may involve the most serious and 
alarming consequences that can invite the 
consideration of mankind, reason is of no 
use to us Id. 

11. Without virtue and without integ- 
rity the finest talents and the most bril- 
liant accomplishments can never gain the 
re8pect and conciliate the esteem of the 
truly invaluable part of mankind. 

12. My lirst wish is to see this plague 
(war) to mankind banished from the 
earth, and the sons and daughters of this 
world employed in more pleasing and in- 
nocent amusements, than in preparing 



implements and < them t'<>v the 

destruction of mankind. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, 

"The greatest Statesman and most pro- 
found scholar of his time," was born at 
Shade well, Virginia, April 2, 17L5, died 
duly 1, 1826. lie had a fair know!. 

of French, Latin, Greek, and English be- 
fore I"- w a- fourteen ; at the age of twenty- 
four, he entered upon a successful career 
of practice in the legal profession, which 
was not interrupted until the Revolution- 
ary war occurred. Like Washington, he 
kept memoranda minutely and diligently, 
and his pen, ever ready to give wings to 
his thoughts, was always with him even 
during his most arduous duties as Gover- 
nor of Virginia, Member of Cong! 
Vice-President and President of the 
United States. His productions - 
that he was a classical and scientific 
scholar, and a wise thinker. Ilis best 
works are the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, Notes on Virginia. Manual of Par- 
liamentary Practice, Reports and Mes- 
sages. 

GEMS — [From his Decalogue, Letters, and Speeches.] 

1. A strong body makes the mind 
strong. 

2. Nothing is troublesome that we do 
willingly. 

3. A mind always employed is always 
happy. 

4. Never put off till to-morrow T what 
you can do to-day. 

5. Never trouble another for what you 
can do yourself. 

6. An honest heart being the first bless- 
ing, a knowing head is the second. 

7. No vice is so mean as the want of 
truth, and at the same time so use) 

8. Refrain if you see a doubt, but when 
once decided, go through with your pur- 
pose, whatever obstacles oppose. 

9. Of all the cankers of human happi- 
ness none corrodes with so silent, yet so 
baneful an influence, as indolence. 

10. Give up money, give up fame. g 
up science, give up the earth, itself and all 
it contains, rather than do an immoral act. 

11. The strongest feature in the char- 
acter of Washington was prudence, never 



88 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



acting until every circumstance, every 
consideration, was maturely weighed. 

\-2. We hold these truths to be self- 
evident; thai all men are created equal; 
that they are endowed by their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights; that among 
these are lite, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness. 

DANIEL WEBSTER, 

"The Chatham of the New World," was 
born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, Jan- 
uary 18, 1782, died October 24, 1852. 
He was a graduate from Dartmouth col- 
lege; was admitted to the bar; became a 
Representative, United States Senator, 
and Secretary of State. Webster was in- 
deed a lawyer, a statesman, an orator, an 
author. As a writer he stands among 
the first of his class ; no style can be found 
more suited for the subjects of which it 
treats than his. It is strong, simple, dig- 
nified, and touched with high imaginative 
beauty. His works, arranged by his 
friend, Edward Everett, were published 
in six volumes, at Boston, in 1851. He 
wrote Character of Washington, Educa- 
tion in the United States, Love of Home, 
On Early Rising, Peculiarity of Our 
Liberty, The American Union, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Liberty and Union, now and forever, 
one and inseparable. — The American 
Union. 

2. One may live as a conqueror, a king, 
or a magistrate, but he must die as a man. 
— Saying. 

3. There is no evil from which we can- 
not fly but the consciousness of duty dis- 
regarded Id. 

4. A true lover of the virtue of patriot- 
ism delights to contemplate its purest 
models — Eulogium of Washington. 

5. My heart has always assured me and 
reassured me that the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ is a divine reality Saying. 

6. On the diffusion of education among 
the people rests the preservation and per- 
petuation of our free institutions Educa- 
tion. 

7. Heaven's gates are not so highly 
arched as kings' palaces ; they that enter 
there must go upon their knees Saying. 



8. A true friend of his country loves 
her friends and benefactors, and thinks it 
no degradation to commend and commem- 
orate them — Eulogium on Washington. 

9. The ingenuous youth of America 
will hold up to themselves the bright 
model of Washington's example, and 
study to be what they behold Ibid. 

10. The tree which Jefferson and Adams 
assisted to plant will flourish, although 
they water and protect it no longer ; for it 
has struck its roots deep, it has sent them 
to the very centre On America. 

11. The name of Washington was in 
war a power to rally a nation in the hour 
of thick throbbing public disasters ; and 
in peace a loadstone attracting to itself a 
whole people's confidence, and the whole 
world's respect Id. 

12. If we work upon marble, it will 
perish; if we work upon brass, time will 
efface it; if we rear temples, they will 
crumble into dust ; but if we work upon 
immortal minds, if we imbue them with 
principles, with the just fear of God and 
love of our fellow-men, we engrave on 
those tablets something which will brighten 
to all eternity Love of Home. 

WASHINGTON IRVING, 

(Jonathan Oldstyle ; Diedrich Knickerbocker,) 

" The American Goldsmith," was born 
in New York, April 3, 1783, died No- 
vember 28, 1859. He furnished many 
unexcelled volumes on romance, travel, 
and history; he portrayed vividly the 
manners and customs of the Dutch of 
New York. He was a great traveler, hav- 
ing visited many parts of our country, and 
all the important places of Europe. On 
account of the early death of a young lady 
(Matilda Hoffman) to whom he was at- 
tached, he never married. His writings 
have been immensely popular, not only in 
this country, but throughout Europe, and 
have been translated into many languages. 
Among them are D. Knickerbocker, Sketch 
Book, Salmagundi, Astoria, Wolfert's 
Roost, Lives of Washington, Columbus,' 
Goldsmith, and Mahomet. 

GEMS. 

1. Time is ever silently turning over 
his pages Sketch Book. 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 



C9 



2. The grave is the ordeal of true af- 
fection. — Rural Funerals ( Id). 

;;. Surely happiness is reflective like 
the light oi heaven — Christmas {Id). 

4. The idol of to-day pushes the hero 
of yesterday <>ut of our recollection. — Id. 

'>. Speculation is the romance of trade, 

and casts contempt upon all LtS sober real- 
ities Astoria. 

('). How easy it is for One benevolent 

being to diffuse pleasure all around him 

The Christmas Dinner (Sketch Book). 

7. Mere pebbles make the stream of 
truth diverge into different channels, even 
at the fountain-head. — Stratford -on -Avon. 

8. Theories are the mighty soap bubbles 
with which the grown-up children of sci- 
ence amuse themselves. — Knickerbocker 's 

n. r. 

9. It is only spurious pride that is mor- 
bid and sensitive and shrinks from every 
touch The Country Church (Sketch Book). 

10. Little minds are tamed and subdued 
by misfortune, but great minds rise above 
it King Philip's War. 

11. Sweet is the memory of distant 
friends ! like the mellow rays of the de- 
parting sun, it falls tenderly yet sadly on 
the heart From a Letter. 

12. How truly is a kind heart a foun- 
tain of gladness, making everything in its 
vicinity freshen into smiles The Christ- 
mas Dinner (Sketch Book.) 

13. Then why should we quarrel for riches 
Or any such glittering toys? 
A light heart and thin pair of breeches 
Will go through the world, my brave 
boys. Knickerbocker. 

14. The writings of the true poet are 
caskets which enclose within a small com- 
pass the wealth of the language — its fam- 
ily jewels, which are thus transmitted in a 
portable form to posterity. — Sketch Book. 

15. Every countenance, bright with 
smiles, and glowing with innocent enjoy- 
ment, is a mirror transmitting to others 
the rays of a supreme and everlasting be- 
nevolence. — Christna/s (Sketch Book). 

1G. It is interesting to notice how some 
minds seem almost to create themselves, 
springing up under every disadvantage, 
and working their solitary but irresistible 

way through a thousand obstacles Bos- 

coe (Sketch Book). 



17. Ii is ambition which prompts the 
patriot to hi- most bcroic achievements 
— which inspires the sublimest Btrains of 

the poet, and breathes ethereal lire into the 

productions of the painter and the sculp- 
tor Love of Fame. 

18. There is in every trae worm 

heart a Spark of heavenly fire whicli 

dormant in the daylight of prosperity ; but 

which kindles up and beams and biases in 

the dark** hour of adversity — The Wife 
(Sketch Book). 

19. lie who has sought renown about 
the world, and has reaped a full harvest 

of worldly favor will find, after all, that 
there is no love, no admiration, no ap- 
plause, so sweet to the soul as that which 
springs up in his native place. — Sketch 
Book. 

JAMES FENNIMORE COOPER, 

"The wonderful portrayer of wild Indian 
scenery and manners," was born in Bur- 
lington, N. J., September 14, 1789, died 
September 14, 1851. He was educated 
at Yale College, and then spent six years 
in the navy. He is best known in Amer- 
ica and Europe through his Sea Tales and 
Leather Stocking series. He left thirty- 
three novels, many of which have received 
the highest compliments that could be 
paid to an author. His influence in the 
field of fiction has been very potent; and 
to the purity of his works is due, in a great 
measure, the comparative health of later 
novels of a commendable character. He 
wrote The Spy, The Prairie, The Pilot, 
The Last of the Mohicans, The Pioneers, 
The Red Rover, The Pathfinder, Manhat- 
tan, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. It is rather joy than labor to lift up 
the voice in praise The Bed Rover. 

2. Reading without thinking does us 
more harm than good. 

3. Wisdom is sometimes given to the 
young as well as to the old. — The 
Pioneers. 

4. He will soon meet his God and learn 
that his God knows him. — The Pilot. 

5. When the death watch is called, 
none can skulk from the muster. — 77ie 
Prairie. 

G. Your words should be like the fruit 



70 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



on the tree, ripe and lit to be given to 

chiefs. — The Prairie. 

7. A largo amount of our happiness 
depends On what kind of an impression 
our reputation makes. — The Last of the 
Mohicans. 

S. It' you are about to strive for your 
life, take with you a stout heart and a 
clean conscience, and trust the rest to 
God The Pilot. 

FITZ GREENE HALLECK, 
" A member of the literary firm * Croaker 
& Co.,' J. R. Drake being the Croaker," 
was born in Guilford, Connecticut, May 
8, 171)0, died November 7, 1867. He 
wrote verses in his boyhood, some of 
which appeared anonymously in contem- 
porary newspapers. He was, during the 
last sixteen years of John Jacob Astor's 
life, engaged in the business affairs of that 
millionaire, and was one of the original 
trustees of the Astor Library, and was the 
recipient of an annuity of $200 from that 
rich benefactor. Halleck's poems, espe- 
cially his satires, have received unbounded 
praise everywhere ; his longest poem 
" Fanny," a satire on the fashions, follies, 
and public characters of the day, enjoyed 
a great popularity, from the variety and 
pungency of its local and personal allu- 
sions. He wrote also Marco Bozzaris, 
Burns, Alnwick Castle, Young America, 
British Poets, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. I sorrow that all fair things must 
decay. — Letter. 

2. Strike for the green graves of your sires, 
God and your native land. 

Marco Bozzaris.. 

3. They saw in death his eyelids close 
Calmly, as to a night's repose 

Like flowers at set of sun Id. 

4. Hope is round us with her angel lay, 
Hailing afar some happier moonlight hour; 
Dear are her whispers still, though lost 

their early power. Fanny. 

5. Though time her bloom is stealing, 

There's still beyond his art 
The wild-flower wreath of feeling. 

The sunbeam of the heart. Id. . 

6. Green be the turf above thee, 

Friend of my better days ; 
None knew thee but to love thee, 
None named thee but to praise. 

On the Death of Drake. 



7. The ballot as lightly falls 

As snow-flakes fall upon the sod, 
But executes a freeman's will, 

As lightning does the will of God. 

Young America. 

LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY, 

(Lydia Huntly,) 
"One of the best and most prolific of 
American poets," was born in Norwich, 
Connecticut, September 1, 1791, died 
June 10, 1865. She took an active part 
in the field of literature while quite young, 
and continued all through her life, so that 
she became one of the most voluminous of 
American writers. Mrs. Sigourney was 
equally happy in prose and poetry; her 
rare and highly cultivated intellect, her 
fine sensibilities, and her noble heart en- 
abled her, in all her works, to plead suc- 
cessfully the cause of humanity and re- 
ligion. Maria Edgeworth and and a host 
of other competent critics have borne 
testimony to the poetic genius and moral 
influence of this accomplished woman. 
She wrote The Man of Uz, The Blue- 
bird, Post Meridian, Pocahontas, To 
Young Ladies, Pleasant Memories, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Be on your guard, and strive, and pray, 
To drive all evil thoughts away. 

On Purity. 

2. Blest comforter divine ! 

Let rays of heavenly love 
Amid our gloom and darkness shine 
And guide our souls above. 

A Prayer. 

3. By Thy inspiring breath 

Make every cloud of care, 
And even the gloomy vale of death 
A smile of glory wear. Id. 

4. Go where the sick recline, 

Where mourning hearts deplore ; 
And where the sons of sorrow pine, 
Dispense your hallowed store. 

On Duty. 

5. For spirits round the Eternal Throne 

How vain the tears we shed ! 

They are the living, they alone, 

Whom thus we call the dead. 

The Holy Dead. 

6. While sorrow's willow bendeth 

O'er us, sad and dark. 
If we but look through the leaves above, . 

The souls in heaven we mark. 
1. Wisdom, with our stature grant us 

Goodness for each growing year, 
Nor let folly's wiles enchant us, 

From our duty's sacred sphere. Duty. 



AMKRICAN LITERATURE. 



71 



8. The Btreogth of a nation, especially 
of a republican nation, is in the intelli- 
gent and well-ordered homes of its people. 

— On Home. 

'.'. When adverse winds and waves arise, 
And in my heart despondence - 
When life her throng of care reveals, 
And weakness o'er my Bpirit Bteala, 
Grateful I hear the kind d< 
That •• as my day my strength shall be." 
.4s My Day My Strength Shall Be. 

10. The true order of learning should 
be: first, what is necessary; second, what 
is useful; and third, what is ornamental. 
To reverse this arrangement is like be- 
ginning to build at the top of the edifice. 

— On Education, 

11. This, then, is the patriotism of 
woman : not to thunder in senates, or to 
usurp dominion, or to seek the clarion- 
blast of fame; but faithfully to teach by 
precept and example, that wisdom, in- 
tegrity, and peace which are the glory of 
a nation Patriotism of Woman. 

12. Borne upon the ocean's foam, 
Far from native land and home, 
Midnight's curtain dense with wrath, 
Brooding o'er our venturous path, 
While the mountain wave is rolling, 
And the ship's bell faintly tolling: 
Saviour ! on the boisterous sea, 
Bid us rest secure in Thee. 

Midnight Thoughts at Sea. 

EDWARD EVERETT, 

"One of onr eminent statesmen, rhetori- 
cians, orators, and authors," was born in 
Dorchester, Massachusetts, April 11, 
1704, died January 15, 1865. This 
highly cultured scholar was emphatically 
a child of the public school, of which he 
so often sung the praises and seconded 
the endeavors; he then was graduated at 
Harvard at the age of eighteen, carrying 
oft' the first honors of his class. Everett 
wrote many valuable papers on art, 
science, education, liberal literature. His 
literary productions have been collected 
and published in a volume embracing no 
less than eighty-one separate orations, 
speeches, addresses — some of which are 
Address on Literature, Settlement of 
Massachusetts, The Dirge of Alaric, An- 
ecdotes of Early Local History, Memorial 
From Boston. 



1. Christian lore softeni the ferocit 

the savage ; it melts the felon in hi- cell. 

. — Christian I j in-. 

2. Education ia the one living fountain 

which must water every part of the social 

garden, or it- beauty withers and fades 

away. — Education. 

3. What considerate person can enter a 
school, and not reflect with awe that it is 
a -culinary where immortal minds are 
training lor eternity? — Our Schools. 

4. I should think him cold in his love 
for his native land, who f<dt no melting in 
his heart for that other country that holds 
the ashes of his forefathers. — Obligation* 
to England. 

5. Education is a better safeguard of 
liberty than a standing army. If we re- 
trench the wages of the school-master, we 
must raise those of the recruiting ser- 
geant — On Common Schools. 

6. Wheresoever the fountains of the 
golden tide may gush forth, the streams 
will flow to the regions where educated 
intellect has woven the boundless network 
of the useful and ornamental arts. — Edu- 
cation. 

7. Whoever has learned to read pos- 
sesses the keys of knowledge, and can, 
whenever he pleases, not only unlock the 
portals of the temple, but penetrate the 
inmost halls and most sacred cabinets. — 
Id. 

8. A flash of purple fire blazed out from 
above the horizon, and turned the dewy 
tear-drops of flower and leaf into rubies 
and diamonds. In a few seconds the 
everlasting gates of the morning were 
thrown wide open, and the lord of day, 
arrayed in glories too severe for the gaze 
of man, began his state. — Morning. 

WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, 

"The American Wordsworth," was born 
in Cummington, Mas-., November 3, 
1794, ami died June 12th, 187s. He 
was a precocious youth, for at the 
age of ten he made translations from 
the Latin poets, and shortly afterwards 
wrote two of his best poems. The last 
fifty years of his life were passed in New- 
York, where lie established the Review 



ra 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



and Athenaeum Magazine and Evening 
7W, to which he contributed largely. He 

reached the tirst rank of poets, and his 
writings ■will always be admired for their 

lofty moral tone and their faithful inter- 
pretation of nature. His works are all 

good, but we call especial attention to 
his Thanatopsis, The Embargo, To a 
Water Fowl. Planting of the Apple Tree, 
Death of the Flowers. The Flood of Years, 
Waiting at the Gate, and English versions 
of the Iliad and the Odyssey. 

GEMS. 

1. All that tread the globe are but a 
handful to the tri-bes that slumber in its 
bosom . — Th an atopsis. 

2. All things that are on earth shall wholly 

pass away, 
Except the love of God, which shall live 
and last for aye. Love of God. 

3. Truth crushed to earth shall rise again — 

The eternal years of God are hers ! 
But Error, wounded, writhes in pain, 
And dies among his worshippers. 

The Battlefield. 

4. Almighty, hear us, while we raise 
Our hymn of thankfulness and praise, 
That Thou hast given the human race 
So bright, so fair a dwelling place. 

Thanksgiving Hymn. 

5. These struggling tides of life, that seem 

In wayward, aimless, course to tend, 
Are eddies of the mighty stream 
That rolls to the appointed end. 

The Crowded Street. 

6. The praise of those who sleep in earth, 
The pleasant memory of their worth, 
The hope to meet when life is past 
Shall heal the tortured mind at last. 

The Living Lost. 

7. Upon the valley's lap 

The dewy morning throws 
A thousand pearly drops 

To wake a single rose, 
Thus often in the course 

Of life's" few fleeting years, 
A single pleasure costs 

The soul a thousand tears. 

From the Spanish. 

8. God hath marked each sorrowing day, 

And numbered every secret tear, — 
And heaven's long age of bliss shall pay 

For all His children suffer here. 
There is a day of sunny rest 

For every dark and troubled night; 
And grief may bide an evening guest, 

And joy shall come with early light. 
Blessed are They that Mourn. 



9. Is this a time to be cloudy and sad, 

When our Mother Nature laughs around, 
When even the deep blue heavens look glad, 
And gladness breathes from the blossom- 
ing ground? 
For look at the broad-faced sun ; how he 
smiles 
On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray, 
On the leaping waters and gay young isles 1 
Ay, look, and he'll smile thy gloom away. 
The Gladness of Nature. 

10. So live, that when thy summons comes to 

join 
The innumerable caravan that moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall 

take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon ; but, sustained 

and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his 

couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant 

dreams. Thanatopsis. 

GEORGE BANCROFT, 

" A distinguished historian and a finished 
scholar," was born in Worcester, Massa- 
chusetts, October 3, 1800. At the age of 
seventeen he was graduated at Harvard 
with the second honor of the class. He 
then went to Germany and studied under 
eminent instructors, and prepared himself 
for the ministry, but his love for literature 
caused him to abandon the idea. He held 
many offices of trust — Secretary of the 
Navy, Collector of Customs, Minister to 
England, and afterwards to Germany. 
His name has become pre-eminently fa- 
mous since he completed his History of the 
United States, one of the proudest monu- 
ments of American scholarship. Our other 
eminent historian was William H. Pres- 
cott. Bancroft wrote also Politics of An- 
cient Greece, and Miscellanies. 

GEMS— {From hit Miscellanies.) 

1. Beauty itself is but the sensible 
image of the infinite. 

2. Disappointments and distress are 
often blessings in disguise. 

3. The common mind is the true Parian 
marble, fit to be wrought into likeness of a 
god. 

4. Error w r ould soon be almost entirely 
destroyed if he did not move around in the 
disguise of truth. 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 






5. Beauty, like truth and justice, lives 

within us; like virtue and moral law, it 

is a companion of tin- soul. 

6. The charities of life arc scattered 
everywhere, enameling the vales of hu- 
man beings as flowers paint the meadows. 

7. Franklin loved truth for iis own 
sake, and looked upon things just as they 
were. Never detracting from the merit 
of anytHing, he olid not disdain glory, and 
he knew how to pardon envy. 

RALPH WALDO EMERSON, 
"The sage of Concord," was born in 
Boston, May 25th, L803,died April 27th, 
1882. He was graduated from Harvard 
at the age of eighteen, and beeame a min- 
ister of the gospel, in which calling he 
remained but a short period, having a de- 
sire to devote all his time to mental and 
moral philosophy. His writings have 
commanded respect not only in his own 
country, but also in England and Ger- 
many. They must be studied and under- 
stood to be appreciated. No American 
writer has made a deeper impression on 
the thought and literature of the day. His 
master-works are Man Thinking, Literary 
Ethics, Kepresentative Men, Man the 
Reformer, The Mind and Manners of the 
Nineteenth Century, and Essays. 

GEMS. 

1. Self trust is the essence of heroism. 
— Greatness. 

2. Beauty is the mark God sets on vir- 
tue. — Beauty of Heroic Deeds. 

3. A little integrity is better than any 
career. — Behavior. 

4. The time is never lost that is de- 
voted to work — Essay. 

5. Physical force has no value where 
there is nothing else Power. 

6. Decide what is to be done, then do 
it with might and main. — Essays. 

7. Let love and truth and honor and 
courtesy flow in all thy deeds. — Id. 

8. Hope never spreads her golden 
wings but in unfathomable seas Hope. 

9. Beauty without grace is the hook 
without bait. Beauty without expression 
tires. — Beauty. 

10. Thought is the property of him 
who can entertain it, and of him who 
adequately places it Representative Men. 



11. Society is barbarous, until every 

industrious mail Can get his living without 
dishonest customs. — Wealth. 

12. A cheerful, intelligent face if the 
end of culture, lor it indicates the pui 

of nature and wisdom attained. — Culture. 
18. There is no heautifier of complex- 
ion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to 
Bcatter joy and not pain around us. — Be- 

h< trior. 

14. The man who has a thousand friends 

If :is not a friend to spare ; 

But he who has "in- enemy 

Will meet him everywhere. 

15. Great men are they who see that 
spiritual is stronger than any material 

force ; that thought rules the world 

Greatness. 

1G. A measure of culture is the diffu- 
sion of knowledge, bringing the university 
to every poor man's door in the newsboy's 
basket — Culture. 

17. 'Tis very certain that each man car- 
ries in his eye the exact indications of his 
rank in the immense scale of men, and we 
are always learning to read it. The rea- 
son why men do not obey us is, because 
they see the mud at the bottom of our eye. 
— Behavior. 

18. rich and various man ! thou pal- 
ace of sight and sound, carrying in thy 
senses the morning, the night, and the 
unfathomable galaxy ; in thy brain the 
geometry of the city of God ; in thy heart 
the power of love, and the realms of right 
and wrong ! — Man Thinking. 

19. There is no den in the wide world 
to hide a rogue. Commit a crime, and the 
earth is made of glass. Commit a crime, 
and it seems as if a coat of snow fell on the 
ground, such as reveals in the woods the 
track of every partridge, fox, squirrel and 
mole — Crime. 

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, 

"Our most graphic and striking prose 
writer," was born in Salem. Massachu- 
setts, July 4, 1804, died May 19, L864 
He was twenty-one when he became a 
graduate of Bowdoin college; he com- 
menced to work in the iield of literature 
while quite young, but being very diffi- 
dent, his productions were not published 
until later. It is safe to say that no prose- 






OUTLINES OF LITEKATl'KK. 



writer lias been bo generally and heartily 
loved as Hawthorne. His style is remark- 
able for its purity and gracefulness. He 

wrote Twice 'Void 'rales. The Scarlet Let- 
ter, Our OKI Heme, The Marble Faun, 
The House oi' Seven Gables, Mosses from 
an Old Manse, Tanglewood Tales, The 
Wonder Look, etc, 

GEMS. 

1. Gradually, by silent and steady in- 
fluences, are great changes wrought 

The Snow Storm. 

2. Xo fountain is so small but that 

heaven may be imaged in its bosom 

Mosses from an Old Manse. 

3. A grave, wherever found, preaches 
a grave and pithy sermon to the soul. — 
The Wonder Book. 

4. Love truth, whatever the immediate 
consequences ; you will be rewarded in the 
end — The House of Seven Gables. 

h. Why art thou sad ? Pluck up a 
spirit, and do not be all the time sighing 
and murmuring — The Scarlet Letter. 

6. There are some spheres the contact 
with which inevitably degrades the high, 

debases the pure, deforms the beautiful 

Tlie Bliihedale Romance. 

7. There are few uglier traits of human 
nature than the tendency to grow cruel, 
merely because they possess the power of 
doing harm The Scarlet Letter. 

8. The truest heroism is to resist the 
doubt; and the profoundest wisdom to know 
when it ought to be resisted, and when to 
be obeyed. — The Blithedale Romance. 

9. Every individual has a place to fill 
in the world, and is important in some re- 
spect, whether he chooses to be so or not. 
— Twice Told Tales. 

10. I cannot conceive of being within 
the sphere of a strong and noble nature 
without being strengthened and ennobled 
by its influence — Tlie Bliihedale Romance. 

11. We believe that Newton is still 
searching out the infinite wisdom and good- 
ness as earnestly as ever, and with even 
more success than while his spirit animated 
a mortal body Sir Isaac Newton. 

NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS, 

" A popular poet, essayist and journalist," 
was born in Portland, Maine, January 20, 
1807, died January 20, 1867. After 



graduating at Yale, at the age of twenty- 
one, he began his Literary work. He pos- 
sessed, beyond question, profound intel- 
lectual ability and elegant scholarship, but 
was unfortunate in the choice of subjects. 
Willis left us twenty-six volumes of prose 
and poetry, among which are Pencillings 
by the Way, Letters from Under a Bridge, 
People I Have Met, Cruise in the Medi- 
terranean, Death of Absalom, Hagar in 
the Wilderness, Out Doors at Idlewood, 
Here and There, The Eag Bag, Hurry- 
graphs. 

GEMS. 

1. The innumerable stars shine in order, 
like a living hymn written in light — Prose 
Lyrics. 

2. How strikingly the course of nature tells, 
By its light heed of human suffering, 
That it was fashioned for a happier world. 

Death of Absalom. 

3. The perfect world by Adam trod, 
Was the first temple — built by God — 
His fiat laid the corner stone, 

And heaved its pillars one by one. 

Adam. 

4. My mother's voice ! how often creeps 
Its cadence on my lonely hours ! 
Like healing sent on wings of sleep, 

1 Or dew to the unconscious flowers. 

Better Moments. 

5. The hidden beauties of standard 
authors break upon the mind by surprise. 
It is like discovering a hidden spring in an 
old jewel — Bidden Beauties of Classic 
Authors. 

6. How like a mountain demon in the heart 
Rules the unreined ambition ! Let it once 
But play the monarch, atid its haughty brow 
Glows with a beauty that bewilders thought 
And unthrones peace forever. Putting on 
The very pomp of Lucifer, it turns 
The heart to ashes, and with not a spring 
Left in the bosom for the spirit's lip, 
We look upon our splendor, and forget 
The thirst of which we perish ! 

Parrhasius and the Captive. 
7. It is not the fear of death 
That damps my brow ; 
It is not for another breath 

I ask thee now ; 
I can die with a lip unstirred, 

And a quiet heart-^- 
Let but this prayer be heard 

Ere I depart. 
Thine is the power to give, 

Thine to deny, 
Joy for the hour I live, 
Calmness to die. 



AMERICAN LITERA1 I 



76 



By all tin- bravi- should cherilb, 

Hv inv dj tag breath, 

I ask that I may perish 

\\\ a soldier's death. 

Andi /nest. 

HENRY WADSWORTH LONG- 
FELLOW, 

"One «>f the mosl brilliant stars in the 
world's literary crown," was liorn in Port- 
land, Main'. 1 , February 27, L807, died 
March 2 1. 1882. lie", Nathaniel Haw- 
thorne, and Franklin Pierce, were mem- 
bers of the class that was graduated in 
1825 from Bowdoin College, in which 
institution Longfellow was Professor of 
Modern Languages until 1835, when he 
accepted the chair of Literature in Har- 
vard. He wrote verse at an early age, 
and has, beyond all question, become the 
most popular of American poets. His 
thoughts are uniformly lucid and trans- 
parent, and never clouded by fanciful ver- 
biage or obscurity; his poems abound in 
delicate grace and refined flavor, contain- 
ing a peculiar and subtle charm that 
comes from perfect ease and self-posses- 
sion. His many works that have fairly 
captivated the hearts of American and 
European admirers of poetry are Evange- 
line, Tales of a Wayside Inn, The Old 
Clock, Resignation, Hanging of the 
Crane, Keramos, Hyperion, Hiawatha, 
A Psalm of Life, Excelsior, The Divine 
Tragedy, The Golden Legend. 

GEMS. 

1. The Sabbath is the golden clasp 
which binds together the volume of the 
week — Prose Composition. 

2. Authors must not, like Chinese sol- 
diers, expect to win victories by turning 
somersets in the air Id. 

3. All things must change 

To something new, to something strange: 
Nothing that is can pause or stay. 

Keramos. 

4. The day is done, and slowly from the scene 
The stooping sun upgathers his spent 

shafts. 
And puts them back into his golden quiver. 
The Day is Done. 
5. The talent of success is nothing more 
than doing what you can do well, and do- 
ing well whatever you do, without a 
thought of fame Prose Composition. 



•;. Here none to perfect bliss attain ; 
The null in pleasure Buffering I 
Jn\ hath an undertone of pain, 
And even tin- happiest hours their 

The Angel ami the Child. 

7. The heights of great men gained ami kept 

Were not attained by Sudden flight, 

But they, while their companions Blept, 

Were toiling upwards in the light. 

Ladder <•• 'inc. 

8. Though the mills of God grind slowly, 

Vet they grind exceeding small, 
Though with patience He stands waiting, 
With exactness grinds He all. 

Retribution. 
!>. Whereunto is money good? 

Who has it not wants hardihood, 
Who has it has much trouble and care, 
Who once has had it has despair. 

Money. 

10. Oh ! fear not in a world like this, 

And thou shalt know ere long — 
Know how sublime a thing it is 
To suffer and be strong. 

The Light of Stars. 

11. There is no flock, however watched and 

tended, 
But one dead lamb is there! 
There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, 
But has a vacant chair! Resignation. 

12. If thou wouldst read a lesson that will keep 
Thy heart from fainting, and thy soul from 

sleep, 
Go to the woods and hills ! No tears 
Dim the sweet look that nature wears. 

Sunrise on the Hills. 

13. Oh, what a glory doth this world put on 
For him who with a fervent heart goes 

forth, 
Under the bright and glorious sky, and 

looks 
On duties well performed, and days well 

spent. Autumn in America. 

14. Were half the power that fills the world 

with terror, 
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps 
and courts, 
Given to redeem the human mind from 
error, 
There were no need of arsenals and forts. 
The Arsenal at Sprinyjitld. 

15. This world is but the rugged road 
Which leads us to the bright abode 

Of peace above : 
So let us choose the narrow way 
Which leads no travek-r astray 

From realms of love. 

From a Translation. 

16. The shadows of the mind arc like 
those of the body; in the morning of life 
they all lie behind us, at noon we tram- 



re 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



pie them underfoot, and in the even- 
ing they stretch long, broad, and deepen- 
ing bet ore us. 

IT. No one is bo accursed by fate, 
No one so utterly desolate, 
But some heart though unknown, 
Responds unto his own. 
Responds, as if with unseen wings, 
A breath from heaven had touched its 

strings. 
And whispers in song, 
" Where hast thou stayed so long?" 

Endymion. 

18. Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest; 
Home-keeping hearts are happiest, 

For those that wander they know not 

where, 
Are full of trouble and full of care ; 

To stay at home is best. 

Weary and homesick and distressed 
They wander east, they wander west, 
And are baffled and beaten and blown 

about 
By the winds of the winderness of doubt; 
To stay at home is best. 

Then stay at home, my heart, and rest ; 
The bird is safest in its nest ; 
O'er all that flutter their wings and fly 
A .hawk is hovering in the sky ; 

To stay at home is best. Home. 

19. The day is cold and dark and dreary ; 
It rains, and the w r ind is never weary ; 
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, 
But at every gust the dead leaves fall, 
And the day is dark and dreary. 

My life is cold and dark and dreary ; 
It rains, and the wind is never weary. 
My thoughts still cling to the moldering 

past, 
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the 

blast, 
And the days are dark and dreary. 

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; 
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining : 
Thy fate is the common fate of all, 
Into each life some rain must fall, 
Some days must be darkand dreary. 

The Rainy Day. 

20. Trust no future, howe'er pleasant I 

Let the dead past bury its dead; 
Act, act in the living present! 

Heart within, and God o'erhead ! 
Lives of great men all remind us 

We can make our lives sublime, 
And, departing, leave behind us 

Footprints on the sands of time. 
Footprints, that perhaps another, 

Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother 

Seeing, shall take heart again. 



Let us. then, be up and doing, 

With a heart for any late; 
Still achieving, still pursuing, 

Learn to labor and to wait. 

Psalm of Life. 

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, 

" Our much-loved Quaker poet," was born 
in Haverhill, Massachusetts, December 21, 
1807. 

Though a farmer's son, and being 
obliged to assist at home until he was 
twenty-one, he had such a keenness and 
aptness for mental culture that when he 
left the farm he took charge of a leading 
newspaper, and in less than five years was 
sent to the legislature. He has written 
upw r ards of tiiirty volumes of poems, 
mostly of a pastoral nature; many of 
them have gained exceptional popularity. 
Among them are Maud Muller, Snow 
Bound, Barbara Freitchie, Among the 
Hills, The Centennial Hymn, The Penn- 
sylvania Pilgrim, The Panorama, Mabel 
Martin, Mogg Megone. 

GEMS. 

1. Freedom's soil has only place 
For a free and fearless face. 

On Freedom. 

2. For all of us some sweet hope lies 
Deeply buried from human eyes. 

Maud Muller. 

3. Love scarce is love that never knows 
The sweetness of forgiving. 

Among the Hills. 

4. Our times are in God's hands, and all our 

days 
As our needs. Tauler. 

5. Of all sad words from tongue or pen, 

The saddest are these : " It might have 
been." Maud Muller. 

6. This day we fashion Destiny, our web of 

fate we spin; 
This day for all hereafter choose we holi- 
ness or sin. The Crisis. 

7. The steps of faith 

Fall on the seeming void, and find 

The rock beneath. My Soul and I. 

8. So, darkness in the pathway of man's life 
Is but the shadow of God's providence, 

By the Great Sun of Wisdom cast thereon. 

Tauler. 

9. And what were life and death, if sin 
Knew not the dread rebuke within, 
The pang of merciful discipline. 

My Trust. 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 



77 



10. I hold that Christian grace abounds 

Where charity is Been : that when 

\\ e climb to heaven, 'tis on the rounds 

Of l*>vc to men. My < 

11. Sail on I The morning oometh, 

The port we yet shall win ; 

Ami all the hells of God shall ring 

The good ship bravely in. 

Tk ' ■ha. 

12. Behind the cloud the starlight lurks, 

Through showers the Bunbeams foil: 
For God, who loveth all his works, 
Has left his hope with all. 

Hope and Gloom. 

13. Prayers of love like rain-drops tall, 

Tears of pity and cooling dew. 
And dear to the heart of Our Lord are all 
Who sutler like Him in the good they do ! 
The Robin. 

14. The tissue of the life to be 

We weave with colors all our own, 
And in the field of Destiny 

We reap as we have sown. Raphael. 

15. But by all thy nature's weakness, 

Hidden faults and follies known, 
Be thou in rebuking evil. 
Conscious of thine own. 

What the Voice Said. 

16. God blesses still the generous thought, 

And still the fitting word He speeds, 
And truth, at His requiring taught, 
He quickens into deeds. Charity. 

17. Ours is the seed-time; God alone 
Beholds the end of what is sown ; 
beyond our vision, weak and dim, 
The harvest time is hid with Him. 

The Harvest. 

18. 0, speed the moment on 

When Wrong shall cease, and Liberty 
and Love 
And Truth and Right throughout the earth 
be known 
As in their home above. 

Clerical Oppressors. 

19. God's ways seem dark, but soon or late, 
They touch the shining hills of day : 
The evil cannot brook delay, 

The good can well afford to wait. 

Lines Inscribed to Friend* V ml or Arrest for 
Treason Against the Slave Power. 

20. Thou who hast made my home of life so 

pleasant, 
Leave not its tenant when its walls decay : 
Love divine, O Helper ever present, 
Be Thou my strength and stay ! 

A t Last. 

21. Alas! the evil which we fain would shun 
We do, and leave the wished-for work un- 
done : 

Our strength to-day 
Is but to-morrow's weakness prone to fall: 
Poor, blind, unprofitable servants all 

Are we alway. 



2 2 . S< 

Is labor for a worth;. 

A toil thai gains with what it yiel 

An iwn incre 

And bean, while BOWing outward B< 

The ban i I inward pe 

23. Heed how thon livest. Do not ad by 

That which from night shall sweep thy 

peace an 

In months Of sun so live that months of rain 

Shall still be happy. Evermore restrain 
Evil and cherish good : so Bhall thei 
Another and a happier life for thee. 

Mahabharata. 

24. Like warp and woof all destinies 

Are woven fast, 
Linked in sympathy like the keys 

> Of an organ vast. 
Pluck one thread, and the web ye mar : 

Break but one 
Of a thousand keys, and the paining jar 
Through all will run. 

My Soul and L. 

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 

"A favorite humorist, novelist, and lyric," 
was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Au- 
gust 29, 1809. He was graduated at Har- 
vard at the age of twenty, and then prac- 
ticed medicine for a time; was one of the 
founders of the Atlantic Monthly, to which 
he contributed for many years. Dr. 
Holmes has written poetry and fiction, but 
his grand suecesgshas been won in the field 
of prose, surrounded by sucli a pervading 
atmosphere of wit and good-humored satire, 
that the reader is kept in a state of con- 
tinual exhilaration. His productions em- 
brace One Hoss Shay, Autocrat, Pro- 
fessor, and Poet at the Breakfast Table; 
Old Ironsides; Union and Liberty; Bill 
and Joe; The Organ Blower; Welcome 
to all Nations ; etc., etc. 

GEMS. 
1. A little nonsense now and then, 
Is relished by the best of men. 

2. Put not your trust in money, but 

put your money in trust. — Autocrat. 

3. Sin has many tools, but a lie is a 
handle which tits them all. — Ibid. 

4. Love, though he breaks this earthly chain 
Still whispers he will come again. 

On LjOvc. 

5. Knowledge and timber should not be 

much used until they are seasoned. — Auto- 
crat. 



78 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



6. Day has put Oil his jacket, and 
around his burning bosom buttoned it 
with stars. — . I Tailor's Evening Soliloquy, 

7. It is faith in something, and enthu- 
siasm for something, that makes a iife 
worth looking at — Life. 

S. Ran, if you like, but try to keep your breath ; 
"Work like a man, but don't be worked to 
death. Professor. 

9. The true knight of learning, the world 
holds him dear — 
Love bless him, Joy crown him, God speed 
his career. Autocrat. 

10. Don't flatter yourselves that friend- 
ship authorizes you to say disagreeable 
things to your intimates — Id. 

11. Death's cold white hand is like the snow 

Laid softly on the furrowed hill; 
It hides the broken seams below, 

And leaves the summit brighter still. 
Webster. 

12. If singing breath or echoing chord 

To every hidden pang were given, 
What endless melodies were poured, 
As sad as earth, as sweet as heaven ! 

The Voiceless — Autocrat. 

13. Most lives, though their stream is 
loaded with sand and turbid with alluvial 
waste, drop a few grains of wisdom as 
they flow along. — Id. 

14. The Angel of Life winds our brains 
up once for all, then closes the case, and 
gives the key into the hands of the Angel 
of Resurrection. — Id. 

15. Whenever the w T andering demon of 
drunkenness finds a ship adrift, he steps on 
board, takes the helm, and steers straight 
for the Maelstrom Id. 

16. Little-minded people's thoughts 
move in such small circles, that five minutes' 
conversation gives you an arc long enough 
to determine their whole curve Id. 

17. Boston is the hub of the solar sys- 
tem. You couldn't pry that out of a 
Boston man if you had the tire of all crea- 
tion stretched out for a crow-bar. — Id. 

18. Talking is like playing on the harp ; 
there is as much in laying the hand on the 
strings to stop their vibrations, as in twang- 
ing them to bring out their music Id. 

19. Little of all we value here 

Wakes on the morn of its hundredth year 
Without both feeling and looking queer. 
In fact, there's nothing that keeps its youth, 
So far as I know, but a tree and truth. 

The One-Boss Shay. 



20. What flower is this that greets the morn, 
Its hues from heaven so freshly born? 
With burning star and flaming band 

It kindles all the sunset land ; 
Oh, tell us what its name may be! 
Is this the Flower of Liberty? 

The Flower of Liberty. 

21 . Not in the world of life alone, 

Where God has built His blazing throne, 
Nor yet alone in earth below 
With belted seas that come and go, 
And endless isles of sunlit green, 
Is all thy Maker's glory seen : 
Look in upon thy wondrous frame, 
Eternal wisdom still the same. 

The Living Temple — Autocrat. 

22. Father! grant Thy love divine, 
To make these mystic temples Thine. 
When wasting age and wearying strife 
Have sapped the leaning walls of life : 
When darkness gathers over all, 

And the last tottering pillars fall, 
Take the poor dust thy mercy warms, 
And mold it into heavenly forms. Id. 

23. But Nature lends her mirror of illusion 

To win from saddening scenes our age- 
dimmed eyes, 
And misty day-dreams blend in sweet con- 
fusion 
The wintry landscapes and the summer 
skies. 
So when the iron portal shuts behind us, 

And life forgets us in its noise and whirl, 
Visions that shunned the glaring noon-day 
find us 
And glimmering starlight shows the gates 
of pearl. The Iron Gate. 

EDGAR ALLAN POE, 

"Our lamentably unfortunate poet," was 
born in Baltimore, Md., January 19, 1811, 
died October 7, 1849. His short life was 
a series of misfortunes, for his parents, 
who died before he was ten years of age, 
left him in extreme poverty. He suc- 
ceeded, however, in gaining quite a liter- 
ary reputation by his frequent contribu- 
tions to some of the leading newspapers and 
magazines. "Poe was an entirely original 
figure in literature ; was a master of that al- 
literation that has since been, so marked a 
characteristic of the schools of Swinburne 
in England, and Baudelaine in France." 
Only a few of his poems have become 
popular, three of which are wonderfully 
melodious — Annabel Lee, The Ravjen, 
and The Bells. He w r rote also Arthur G. 
Pym, The Gold Bug, The Purloined Let- 
ter, etc. 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 






l. <Hir lives are measured by tin- d< 

Tin- thoughts we think, the objects we pur- 

<;<>/< I Bug. 

2, When the heart is right, the 
thoughts are pure and the words truthful. 
— Newspaper ( Contributions. 

We often lament having too little to 
Bay that will injure our neighbors' repu- 
tation. — Id. 

4. Put heart in } T our work, whatever it 
IS. If it he the lowliest. Simplest, littlest 

task, it will be ennobled by your doing it 
well and cheerfully. — Id. 

5. The Romans worshipped their stand- 
ard, and the Roman standard happened 
to l»e an eagle. Our standard is only one- 
tenth of an eagle — a dollar — and we make 
all even by loving it with ten-fold devo- 
tion. — Id. 

6. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pon- 

■d. weak and weary, 
Oyer many a quaint and curious volume of 

forgotten lore, — 
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly 

there came a tapping 
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at 

my chamber door. 
" 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping 
at my chamber door ; — 

Only this, and nothing more." 

The Raven. 

7. Hear the sledges with the bells, — 

Silver bells, 
What a world of merriment their melody 
foretells ! 
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, 
In the icy air of night, 
While the stars, that oversprinkle 
All the heavens, seem to twinkle 
With a crystalline delight. — 
Keeping time, time, time, 
In a sort of Runic rhyme, 
To the tintinnabulation that so musically 
wells 
from the bells, bells, bells, bells, 
Bells, bells, bells,— 
From the jingling and the tinkling, of the 
bells ! The Bells. 

HORACE GREELEY, 

" One of America's renowned journalists," 
was horn in Amherst, X. II., February 3, 
1811, died November 29, 1*72. We are 
told that he could read almost as soon as 
he eotdd talk, devouring all the books 
within roach, and so far surpassed his 
schoolmates that the leading men of the 
neighborhood offered to hear his expe 



in a colleg . which hi- parent 

clined for him. He soon became a prin- 
contributor and editor; and published 

many highly finished articles of hi* own 
composition while yet quite young. His 
connection with tin- New York Tril 
his political career, his defeat lor the ] 
idenev.and his death, are familiar to ev<-ry 
American who reads history. His writings 
are noted for their originality and common- 
Bense hints on practical topics. Among 
them are : Hints Towards Reform, What 
I Know About Farming, The American 
Conflict, Political Economy, To San Fran- 
cisco. 

GEMS. 

1. Life is a bubble which any breath 
may dissolve. — The Reformer. 

2. Wisdom is never dear, provided the 
article be genuine. — On Agriculture. 

3. Hold fast to the good, with minds re- 
ceptive and eager for the better. — Ibid. 

4. A small library of well selected books 
in his home has saved many a youth from 
wandering into the baleful ways of the 
prodigal son Ibid. 

5. Wealth or Power is a snowflake melt- 
ing momently into the treacherous deep 
across whose waves we are floated on to 
our unseen destiny — The Reformer. 

6. A good practical education, including 
a good trade, is a better outfit for a youth 
than a grand estate with the drawback of 
an empty mind — Agriculture. 

7. A true life must be simple in all its 
elements. Animated by one grand and 
ennobling impulse, all lesser aspirations 
find their proper place in harmonious sub- 
servience Ibid. 

8. The steam engine, the electric tele- 
graph, and the power press, have brought 
knowledge nearer to the humblest cabin 
than it was ten centuries ago to the state- 
liest mansion Ibid. 

9. A bank account daily drawn upon, 
while nothing is deposited to its credit, 
must soon respond, "No funds;" so with 
a farm similarly treated. — Ibid. 

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, 

"A remarkable popular novelist," was 

horn in Litchfield, Connecticut, June 11, 
1812. 

She is a sister of H. W. Beecher, and 



80 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



wife of Prof. C. E. Stowe. "Mrs. Stowe 
was always deeply interested in the sub- 
ject of slavery, and her convictions of the 

sinfulness of it were strengthened by the 
promptings of her most wonderful work, 
Uncle Tom's Cabin." She has erected 
for herself an everlasting monument in 
American literature by the glorious results 
accomplished for the African race through 
her writings. Her principal works are 
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Oldtown Folks, Pal- 
metto Leaves, Dred, The Wide World, 
The Minister's Wooing, The Pearl of 
Orr's Island, My Wife and I. 

GEMS. 

t. There can be no true love without 
liberty Dred. 

2. A lie never works well in religion 
nor in morals Id. 

3. You often find the greenest grass 
under a snow-drift. — Oldtown Folks. 

4. Any mind that is capable of real 

sorrow is capable of good Palmetto 

Leaves. 

5. Every good and great tiling has been 

called impossible before it was done 

Dred. 

6. Love and honor a man who is not 
afraid nor ashamed to do what he thinks 
to be right. — Id. 

7. Midnight — strange mystic hour — 
when the veil between the frail present 
and the eternal future grows thin Mid- 
night. 

8. When a child is without an object 
of affection, and feels itself unloved, its 
whole vigor of being goes into the chan- 
nels of hate. — Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

9. Knocking, knocking, ever knocking ! 

Who is there ? 

Tis a Pilgrim, strange and kingly, 

Never such was seen before ; 

Ah, sweet soul, for such a wonder 

Undo the door. 

He Stands and KnocJcs. 

10. May the blessing of God rest on 
the noble country from which America 
draws her lineage, and on the Queen of it. 
Though all other thrones be shaken, may 
hers — founded deep in the hearts of her 
subjects — b£ established to her and to her 

children throughout all generations To 

Queen Victoria. 



1 1 . What is this life ? and what to us is death ? 

Whence came Ave? whither go? and 

where are those 

Who. in a moment stricken from our side, 

Passed to that land of shadow and repose ? 

Are they all dust? and dust must we be- 
come ? 
Or are they living in some unknown 
clime? 
Shall we regain them in that far-off home, 
And live anew beyond the waves of time? 
The Charmer. 

HENRY WARD BEECHER, 

"The great preacher, lecturer, author," 
was born in Litchfield, Conn., June 24, 
1813. After graduating at Amherst, at 
the age of 21, he became a clergyman; 
for about 35 years he has been pastor of 
the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn. Besides 
his eloquent and impressive sermons, and 
his brilliant and oratorical lectures, he has 
given to the world writings that fairly 
teem with the choicest thought-gems and 
glowdng expressions. He is unsurpassed 
in the power of adapting his style to his 
subject." Some of his works are, Lec- 
tures to Young Men, The Star Papers, 
Life Thoughts, Norwood, Flowers. 

GEMS.— [From his Ltctures, Life Thoughts and Star 
Papfrs.] 

1. The mother's heart is the child's 
school-room. 

2. Prayer is the key of the morning 
and the bolt of the night. 

3. Flowers are the sweetest things God 
made and didn't put a soul into. 

4. True politeness is the spirit of benev- 
olence showing itself in a refined w r ay. 

5. In this world, full often, our joys are 
only the tender shadows which our sor- 
rows cast. 

6. Of all music, that which reaches 
farthest into heaven is the beating of a 
loving heart. 

7. In youth there is a purity of charac- 
ter which when once defiled can never be 
restored Life Thoughts. 

8. There are many persons who think 
Sunday is a sponge with which to wipe out 
the sins of the week. 

9. How many hopes are like a spider's 
web, woven in the night, bright in the 
morning dew, perishing before the first 
foot-fall! 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 



HI 



10. There are do things by which the 
troubles and difficulties of this life can be 
better resisted than wit and bumor — 

Good Nature. 

11. Looking back upon life, I think 
stormy days, well borne, are better for us 
than days which require nothing but en- 
joying. — Stormy Days. 

\'2. Some men are like pyramids, which 
arc very broad where they touch the 
ground, but grow narrower as they reach 
the sky. 

13. "Without good nature, man is like a 
wagon without springs — he has the full 
benefit of every stone and way-rut — Good 
Nature* 

\ ! A man who has spotted and soiled 
his garments in youth, though he may 
seek to make them white again, can never 
wholly do it, even were he to wash them 
with his tears — Life Thoughts. 

15. Some men will not shave on Sun- 
day, and yet they spend all the week in 
shaving their fellow men; and many folks 
think it very wicked to black their boots 
on Sunday morning, yet they do not hesi- 
tate to black their neighbors' reputations 
on week-days. — Ibid. 

JOHN GODFREY SAXE, 

"An admired sonneteer and humorist," 
was born in Highgate, Vermont, June 2, 
1816. 

lie was graduated at Middleburg and 
then practiced law for a long time, after 
which he became editor of a leading paper 
and commenced his literary work. Al- 
though his writings are not very volumin- 
ous, he has reached a high rank as an 
author, because his witty combinations of 
thoughts and fancies, which appear to 
How spontaneously, are so apt and to tire 
point that they are appreciated without an 
effort by the reader. He is one of the 
most pleasing of our humorous poets. He 
wrote Proud Miss McBride, Progress, 
Money King, Leisure Day Dreams, 
Clever Stories, The Times, Riding on 
the Pail. Masquerade, Fables, Early 
Rising, How Money Goes. 

GEMS. 

1. 'Tis well to be awake to duty and to 
truth — Early Rising. 



2. of nil the notable thJ rth, 
The queerest one is pride of birth. 

Amen 

3. " Tin; proper Btudj of mankind i- mai 
The most perplexing one, no doubt, 

man. Woman. 

A. To lix ;i good or evil coui>e, 

Example is of potent force ; 

And they who wish the young to teach 

Must ever practice what they preach. 

Ex ample. 

5. Of all amusements for the mind, 

From logic down to fishii 
There isn't one that you can find 

So very cheap as wishing. Wishing. 

6. Men make their wills, but wives 

Escape a work so sad ; 
Why should they make what all their lives 
The gentle dames have had ? 

Woman's Will. 

7. In the struggle for power, or the scramble 

for pelf. 
Let this be your mqtto : "Rely on your- 
self!" 
For whether the prize be a ribbon or throne, 
The victor is he who can " go it alone." 
Go it Alone. 

8. I like the lad who, when his father thought 
To clip his morning nap by hackneyed 

phrase 
Of vagrant worm by early songster caught, 
Cried, "Served him right! 'tis not at all 

surprising ; 
The worm was punished, sir, for early ris- 
ing !" Early Rising. 

9. Singing through the forest, 

Rattling over ridges, 
Shooting under arches, 

Rumbling over bridges, 
Whizzing through the mountains, 

Buzzing o'er the vale, 
Bless me! this is pleasant. 

Riding on the rail ! Riding on the Rail. 
10. I love vast libraries; aud yet there is a 

doubt 
If one be better with them or without. 
Unless he use them wisely, and indeed 
Knows the high art of what and how to read. 
At Learning's fountain it is sweet to drink 
And 'tis a nobler privilege to think. 

Libraries. 

HENRY W. SHAW, 

("Josh Billings.') 

"Our successful writer of choice gems 
curiously carved,'" was born in Andover, 
Massachusetts, April 1, hsi^, died Sep- 
tember 14, is<s;,. 

After receiving a fair education, he 
turned his attention to contributing to 
newspapers and magazines in strangely 






OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



misspelled words, proverbs and aphorisms, 
in which A\it and wisdom are neatly com- 
bined. While all his compositions con- 
tain sparkling humor, some of them do 
not present it in a very acceptable garb, 
and the minds of the young are not ele- 
vated by being clothed with it. But for 
good common-sense advice Josh Billings' 
sayings on nearly all things of every-day 
life are unsurpassed. He -wrote on Milk, 
Raccoons, Birds, Marriage, Animals, etc. 

GEMS— [From Billings' Philoscphy .] 

1. The cheapest and best way to con- 
vince a fool is to agree with him. 

2. Flattery is like cologne water; to be 
smelled of, not swallowed. 

3. Forget the past, attend to the pres- 
ent, and let the future take care of itself. 

4. What a man gets in this world for 
nothing, he is very apt to value at what it 
cost him. 

5. The safest thing that I can do is to 
hold my tongue; I have learned this by 
hearing others talk. 

6. To be thoroughly educated a man 
must know himself, and no man has lived 
long enough for that yet. . 

7. First comes virtue, then comes 
knowledge, then comes energy — these are 
three king-pins of human excellence. 

8. Ants are the busiest of all the little 
or big bugs, but a large share of their time 
is spent in rebuilding their houses which 
are built where folks can't help but step 
on them. 

9. There are many people in the world 
who are like a guide -board at the forks of 
a road. They can point out the way for 
others to pursue; but they don't follow it 
themselves. 

10. The loafer occupies all grades in 
society, from the judge on the bench 
down to the ragged thing in breeches who 
leans against a lamp-post and fights flies 
in August. 

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, 

" The unrivalled humorist and highly- 
honored poet," was born in Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, February 22, 1819. He 
completed the Harvard course of study, 
and for a time practiced law, but aban- 
doned it to engage in literary pursuits, in 



which he became surpassingly conspicu- 
ous in a short time. He has since occu- 
pied the chair of Belles-Lettres in Har- 
vard, and has been Minister to England, 
His essays and poems illustrate the high- 
est attainment in culture and style. His 
humor is rich and original, and his use of 
the Yankee dialect was a novelty in litera- 
ture. He is the author of the Biglow Papers, 
A Fable for Critics, Among My Books, My 
Study Windows, The Vision of Sir Laun- 
fal, Fireside Travels, Under the Willows, 
etc. 

GEMS. 

1. 'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true 
As for grass to be green or skies to be blue. 

Vision of Sir Launfal. 

2. As one lamp lights another, nor grows less, 
So nobleness enkindleth* nobleness. 

Toussoul. 

3. Education gives power; hence it is a 
blessing or curse, according to how we 
use it — Essays. 

4. Our slender life runs rippling by, and glides 
Into the silent hollow of the past. 

Commemoration Ode. 

5. Once to every man and nation comes the 

moment to decide, 
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the 
good or evil side. 

The Present Crisis. 

6. Better far it is to speak 

One simple word, which now and then 
Shall waken their free nature in the weak 
And friendless sons of men. 

An Incident in a Railroad Car. 

7. New occasions teach new duties ; 

Time makes ancient good uncouth ; 
They must upward still, and onward, 
Who would keep abreast of truth. 

The Present Crisis. 

8. When a deed is done for freedom, 

Through the broad earth's aching breast 
Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, 

Trembling on from East to West. Id. 

9. Get but the truth once uttered, and 'tis like 
A star new-born that drops into its place, 
And which once circling in its placid round, 
Not ail the tumult of the earth can shake. 

A Glance Behind. the Curtain. 

10. Life is a leaf of paper white 

Whereon each one of us may write 

His word or two. and then comes night: 4 

Though thou have time 

But for a line, be that sublime ; 

Not failure, but low aim, is crime. 

For an Autograph. 



A.MERICAN UTKKATURE. 



88 



11. Of all the mj riad moods of mind 

That through the soul come thronging, 
Which on. kind, 

Bo beautiful as longing ? 
To lei the new life in, we know, 

Desire must ope the portal : 
Perhaps the longing to b< 

Helps make the bou! immortal. 

Longing. 

12. Life is joy, and love is power. 

Death all fetters doth unbind. 

Strength and wisdom only flower 

When we toil tor all our kind. 
Hope i^ truth ; the future lt'in <-t h 

More than present takes ;iway, 
Ami the soul forever liveth 

Nearer God from day to day. The Rose. 

13. Tin. 1 perpetual silt of some one weak- 
ness, the eddies of a suspicious temper de* 
positing their one impalpable layer after 
another, may build op a shoal on which an 
heroic life and otherwise magnanimous 
nature may bilge and go to pieces Es- 
says. 

JOSEPH GILBERT HOLLAND, 

("Timothy Titcomb") "our sensible and 
plain-spoken essayist and novelist, " was 
born in Belch ert own, Massachusetts, July 
24, 1819, died October 12, 1881. He de- 
voted himself early to literary pursuits, soon 
became editor of the Springfield Republi- 
can, and afterwards of Scribner's Monthly, 
now The Century. Besides attending toedi- 
torial duties, he was a voluminous writer of 
books, all of which attained a good degree 
of popularity. His essays, poems, novels 
and lectures are all alike notable for purity 
of style and sentiment. Dr. Holland dis- 
played, all through life, tact and judgment ; 
his character was without reproach. He 
wrote Bittersweet, Kathrina, Letters to 
the Young, Gold Foil, Letters to the 
Joneses, Lessons on Life, Miss Gilbert's 
Career, Arthur Bonnicastle, Garnered 
Sheaves, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. A fit of anger is as fatal to dignity as 
a dose of arsenic to life Anger. 

2. Intemperance, the great curse of our 
country and our race, must be destroyed. 
— Tramp ! JVamp .' 

3. Thus it is all over the earth : 

That which we call the fairest, 
And prize for its surpassing worth, 
Is always rarest. 

Bitter-siceet. 



•1. I count this thin 

Thai a noble d p tow ard < ! 

bin in- the -i ul from the common - 

To purer air and grander \ ieu . 

5. Wealth baa groat and benevolent 

USeS, and the world would go v< rv -lowly 

if money could not be accumulated in ui-<- 
and enterprising bands ; but wealth may 
be used to make men prosperous and 
happy, or it may be ux d to make them 
poor and miserable.- — -Wealth. 

6. life, why art thou so bright and boon? 

breath, why art thou so Bweet? 
friends, how can ye forget so soon 

The loved ones who lie at your feet? 
But the world goes round and round, 

And the sun drops into thi 
And whether I'm on or under the ground 

The world cares little for me. 

But if life awake and will never cease 

On the future's distant shore, 
And the rose of love and the lily of peace 

Shall bloom there for evermore, 
Let the world go round and round, 

And the sun sink into the sea : 
For whether I'm on or under the ground 

Oh, what will it matter to me? 

Let the World Go Round. 

ALICE CARY, 

"America's sweet poet," was born in 
Ohio, April 2G, 1820, died February 12, 
1871. She contributed largely to the 
columns of western periodicals before she 
was eighteen, and later to the New York 
Ledger and to the Atlantic Monthly. Miss 
Alice composed so beautifully, and pos- 
sessed such noble qualities of heart and 
mind, that she was reverenced by all her 
acquaintances. She bore with great pa- 
tience the intense pain of her last linger- 
ing illness. She wrote Clovernook Pa- 
pers, Hagar, Picture of Country Life, 
The Bishop's Son, Snow Berries, The 
Lovers' Diary, Married, Not Mated. 

GEMS. 

1. 'Tia not a wild chorus of praises 

Nor chance, nor \ et fate ; 
• 'Tis the greatness horn with him and in 
him 
That makes the man great. 

■ie. 

2. Fill up each hour with what shall last ; 

15uy up the moments as they \ 
The life above, when this is past, 
Is the ripe fruit of the life below. 

Mvringa on Life. 



84 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



3. The Mm. who smiles wherever he goes, 
Till the flowers all smile again, 
Fell in love one day with a bashful rose 
That had been a' bud till then. 

The Sun and the Hose. 

-i. A mono- the pitfalls in our way, 
The best of us walk blindly ; 
So. man. be wary, watch ami pray, 
lly. 

Kindness. 



o. man. Me wary, wateli a 
And judge your brother kiudly 



5. How dreary would the meadow be 

In the pleasant summer light, 
Suppose there wasn't a bird to sing, 
And suppose the grass was white. 

Nature. 

6. Too much of joy is sorrowful, 

So cares must needs abound ; 
The vine that bears too many flowers 
Will trail upon the ground. Cares. 

7. We tread through fields of speckled 

flowers, 
As if we did not know 
Our Father made them beautiful 

Because He loves us so. January. 

8. The year is not all summer hours, 

And as the time goes by 
The harvest and the brightest flowers 
Will hang their heads and die. 

An Old Maxim. 

9. I think there are some maxims 

Under the sun, 
Scarce worth preservation : 
But here, boys, is one, 
So sound and so simple, 
*Tis worth while to know; 

All in a single line. — 

Hoe your own row. 

Hoe Your Own Row. 

10. The day of my hope is cold and dead, 

The sun is down, and the light is gone ; 
Come hither, thou of the roses red, 
Of the gay, glad heart, and the golden 
head, 

And tell of the dawn. 

Despair. 

11. Blest is his life who to himself is true, 

And blest his death — for memory, when 
he dies, 
Comes with a lover's eloquence, to renew 

Our faith in manhood's upward tenden- 
cies. Hymn to the True Man. 

12. True worth is in being, not seeming, — * 

In doing, each day that goes by, 
Some little good — not in dreaming 

Of great things to do by and by ; 
For whatever men say in their blindness, 

And spite of the fancies of youth, 
There is nothing so kingly as kindness 

And nothing so royal as truth. 

Nobility. 



THOMAS BUCHANAN READ, 

11 The Keystone poet," was born in Ches- 
ter County, Pa., March 12, 1822, died May 
11, 1872. After acquiring a fair educa- 
tion, he chose painting for his profession, 
and soon practiced with marked skill and 
success in New York, Philadelphia, and 
Italy. During his leisure he composed 
many beautiful poems, whose distinguished 
characteristic is a delicate and varied play 
of fancy. His verse is always musical, 
and has gained its author great popularity. 
He wrote House By the Sea, The New 
Pastoral, Sheridan's Ride, The Wagoner 
of the Alleghenies, A Summer Story, 
Drifting, The Angler, The Rising in 1776, 
The Deserted Road, etc. 

GEMS. 

1. Despair not for a cloudy sky, 

The darkest cloud will soon pass by. 

Courage. 

2. The flowers that bloom above the dead, 

The countless gems that mourners know, 
The long grass in the sunken bed, 

These God permits to grow. God's Love. 

3. How sweet the hour of Sabbath talk, 
The vale with peace and sunshine full, 
"Where all the happy people walk 
Decked in their homespun flax and wool! 

*The Rising in 1776. 

4. Fair Pennsylvania! than thy midland vales, 
Lying 'twixt hills of green, and bound afar 
By billowy mountains rolling in the blue, 
No lovelier landscape meets the traveler's 

eye. Pennsylvania. 

5. The maid who binds her warrior's sash, 

With smile that well her pain dissembles, 
The while beneath her drooping lash 

One starry tear-drop hangs and trembles, 
Though Heaven alone records the tear, 

And fame shall never know the story, 
Her heart has shed a drop as dear 

As e'er bedewed the field of glory. 

The Brave at Home. 

6. " Who dares?" this was the patriot's cry, 
As striding from the desk he came ; • 

11 Come out with me in Freedom's name, 
For her to live, for her to die?" 
A hundred hands flung up reply, 
A hundred voices answered, " I !'' 

The Rising in 1776. 
1. Ancient highway, thou art vanquished; 

The usurper of the vale 
Rolls in fiery iron rattle 

Exultations on the gale. 
Thou art vanquished and neglected, 

But the good which thou hast done, 
Though by man it be forgotten, 

Shall be deathless as the sun. 



AMKKICAN LITEltATl'Ki:. 



83 



Thou 

' 1 jiiny that inv decline 
brough as i ernal \ all 
Aii'i calm as thine. 

BAYARD TAYLOR, 

" Literature's tourist," WU born in Ken- 
nc-tt Square, Pa,, January 11, l<SL , r>, died 
December 10, L878. While yet a boy he 

traveled across the Atlantic- and through 
Europe, Asia and Africa, and afterwards 
extensively in California and Mexico. The 
publication©! these journeys secured him a 
widespread reputation as a writer. lie 
filled several important politieal positions, 
the last of which was Minister to Berlin, 
at which place he died. His poems and 
books of travel are eagerly read by all 
literary people. Among them are Views 
Afoot, John Godfrey's Fortune, Home and 
Travel, The Orient, By-ways of Europe, 
Hannah Thurston, and his last poem, The 
Village Stork. 

GEMS. 

1. He who would lead, must first himself 
be led Traveler. 

2. The gold of dawn and sunset sheds 
Unearthly glory on our heads. Id. 

3. Knowledge alone is the being of Nature, 
Giving a soul to her manifold features. 

Kilmandjaro. 

4. Strength is born of struggle, faith of doubt, 
Of discord law, and freedom of oppression. 

Gettysburg Ode. 

5. How many who bear the impress of 
godlike virtue, hide beneath a goodly 
countenance a heart black with crime. — 
Views Afoot. 

6. There's nothing to do but to take the days 

as they come and go, 

And not to worry with thoughts that no- 
body likes to show, 

For people so seldom talk of the things 
they want to know. 

John Reed's Thoughts. 

7. This, soldier, be your chosen fate, 

Your fame that longest shall endure ! 
'Tis noble thus to save a State, 
But nobler yet to make it pure. 

Soldiers of Peace. 

8. Oh ! a wonderful stream is the river of Time, 

As it runs through the realm of tears. 
With a faultless rhythm and a musical 

rhyme, 
And a boundless sweep, and a surge sub- 
lime, 
And blends with the ocean of years. 



Then time, 

When- tl 
There's a clour, . clime, 

An.- • !• cbime, 

And the Jones with the t i .ving. 

And the name of thai Lsl< Ago, 

And we bury our treasurer tli' 
There are brows of beauty and bosoms of 

snow, 
There are heaps of dnst — but we loved 
them so — 

There are trinkets and treesee of hair. 
The Long Ago. 

PHCEBE CARY, 

" Our pathetic author," was born in Ohio, 
September 14, 1825, died July 31, 1871. 
She, like her Bister Alice, commenced 
writing at an early age, and composed 
many beautiful poems and touching hymns ; 
some of the latter will be sung by religious 
denominations for years to come. Many 
of her productions were of a humorous 
character, and fairly sparkled with genu- 
ine wit. She deeply lamented the loss of 
her sister, whom she soon followed into a 
better world. The death of both these 
girls was deeply- felt by all who knew 
them, whether personally or through their 
writings. Phoebe wrote One Solemn 
Thought, Suppose, Good Deeds, Affec- 
tion, Heaven. 

GEMS. 

1. One sweetly solemn thought 

Comes to me o'er and o'er, 
I'm nearer my home to-day, 

Than I've ever been before. A Hymn. 

2. Look for goodness, look for gladnass, 

You will meet them all the while ; 
If you bring a smiling visage 
To the glass, you meet a smile. 

Good Cheer. 

3. For while your true and tender heart 

By my thoughtlessness was grieved, 
I suffered both for the pain I gave, 
And the pain that you received. 

Good Deeds. 

4. No thought within her bosom stirs 

But wakes some feeling dark and dread ; 
God help thee from a doom like hers, 
Of living when the hopes are dead. 

The Lovers. 

5. years gone down into the past ; 
"What pleasant memories come to me 
Of your untroubled days of peace, 
And hours of almost ec8l 

Growth of Contentment. 



80 



OUTLINES OF LITERATURE. 



6. 1 grieve with your grief, 1 die with your 
Grown, 
hi your joy alone I In e ; 

And the blow it would pain your heart to 
feel, 
It would break my own to give. 

Apology. 

T. Oh. there are moments for us here, when, 
ing 
Life's inequalities, and woe, and care, 
The burdens laid upon our mortal being 
Seem heavier than the human heart can 
bear. Bearing Life's Burdens. 

8. Suppose your task, my little man, 

Is very hard to get, 
Will it make it any easier 

For you to sit and fret? 
And suppose the world don't please you, 

Nor the way some people do, 
Do you think the whole creation 

Will be altered just for you ? 

Suppose. 

9. Did -we think of the light and sunshine, 

Of the blessings left us still, 
"When we sit and ponder darkly 

And blindly o'er life's ill, 
How should we dispel the shadows 

Of still and deep despair, 
And lessen the weight of anguish 

Which every heart must bear ? 

Light in Darkness. 
10. The clouds may rest on the present 

And sorrow on days that are gone, 
But no night is so utterly cheerless 

That we may not look for the dawn ; 
And there is no human being 

With so wholly dark a lot, 
But the heart, by turning the picture, 

May find some sunny spot. Ld. 

JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD, 

"America's immortal scholar, soldier, 
statesman, author, and martyr," was born 
in Ohio, November 19, 1831, died Sep- 
tember 19, 1881. The life of "Garfield 
the Good" like that of "Lincoln the Lib- 
erator," from the lowliest condition to the 
most exalted position, suddenly ended by 
the assassin, is known throughout the 
globe. After graduating at Hiram and 
Williams' Colleges, he became Principal 
of the former ; subsequently he passed to 
the pulpit and thence to the political arena. 
His speeches, orations, writings, and all 
his actions, show that his mental structure 
was adequate to his work. His words 
were well chosen, his sentences terse and 
complete, and his productions a sparkling 
mine of the richest gold for the thought- 



ful reader. He wrote Education and Suc- 
cess, Memory, Letters, Speeches, etc. 

GEMS.— [From Letters and Speeches.] 

1. I would rather be beaten in right 
than succeed in wrong. 

2. Great ideas travel slowly, and for a 
time noiselessly, as the gods whose feet 
were shod with wool. 

3. The men who succeed best in public 
life are those that take the risk of stand- 
ing by their own convictions. 

4. It is not the billows, but the calm 
level of the sea, from which all heights and 
depths are measured. 

5. No emotion touches my heart more 
quickly than a sentiment in honor of a 
great and noble character. 

6. Whatever you win in life you must 
conquer by your own efforts, and then it 
is yours — a part of yourself. 

7. If you expect to wear spurs, you 
must win them. If you wish to use them, 
you must buckle them to your own heels 
before you go into the fight. 

8. Throughout the whole web of na- 
tional existence, we trace the golden thread 
of human progress toward a higher and 
better estate. 

9. Next in importance to freedom and 
justice is popular education, without which 
neither justice nor freedom can be perma- 
nently maintained. 

10. No influence on earth could swerve 
me from a course marked out for me by my 
intellect, and approved by my conscience. 

11. Inertia is one of the indispensable 
laws of matter, and things lie flat where 
they are until by some intelligent spirit 
they are endowed with activity and life. 

12. I must do something to keep my 
thoughts fresh and growing. I dread 
nothing so much as falling into a rut, and 
feeling myself becoming a fossil. 

13. Poverty is uncomfortable, as I can 
testify; but nine times out of ten, the best 
thing that can happen to a young man is 
to be tossed overboard and compelled to 
sink or swim for himself. In all my ac- 
quaintance, I never knew a man to be 
drowned who was worth the saving. 

14. In giving you being, God locked 
up in your nature certain forces and capa- 
bilities. What will you do with them? 



AMERICAN LITERATURE. 






Look at the mechanism of a dock. Take 
oil" iht' pendulum and the ratchet, and 

the wheels go rattling down, and all 

its force is expended in a moment ; but 
properly balanced and regulated it will 

go on, letting out its force tick by tick, 
measuring hours and days, and doing 
faithfully the service tor which it was de- 
signed. 



- life. A 

The joys of youth — bright 
Spring— 

Crow dim and faded. «uid 1 : .. oight 

of death's chill winl 

Spring 
Rebuilds the ruined wreck of wi) 

And cheers the gloomy earth with joyous 

light, 

So o'er the tomb the star of hope shall rise 
And usher in an ever 'during • 




OUTLIN I :s 



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